U.N. chief slams COVID-19 'travel apartheid' as unacceptable

FILE PHOTO: U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the media at the end of his visit to mark five years since the signing of a peace deal between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government in Bogota, Colombia November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that travel restrictions imposed over COVID-19 that isolate any one country or region as "not only deeply unfair and punitive - they are ineffective."

Speaking to reporters in New York, Guterres said the only way to reduce the risk of transmission while allowing for travel and economic engagement was to repeatedly test travelers, "together with other appropriate and truly effective measures."