Everything turned overnight. It is a cliché, but it is probably better not to describe when the whole of southern Africa ended up in the corona freezer. The dominant reaction here is that the Western world, without blinking, threw six African countries under the bus. And those in power who are anti-Western have already taken advantage of the situation.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa leans forward towards the camera and speaks slowly to the nation.

He names a number of countries in the West that he is deeply disappointed with.

It seems that he is serious.

Ramaphosa's party ANC and the opposition are normally seen as dogs and cats.

But on Sunday night, the major parties stand up mangrantly behind their president: The West has let South Africa down.

South African researchers discovered the Omikron mutation and immediately sounded the alarm around the world.

Just as you should.

But the world did not take their hand, it turned its back on them.

That's how you feel.

On Thursday, South Africa prepared for the tourist season's vital income, but on Friday the killing spree came and the whole world began to cancel.

The Swedish tourists who were here were urged to leave the country as soon as possible by Sweden's ambassador Håkan Juholt.

The country has crashed economically

Tourism is one of Cape Town's most important sources of income.

In 2019, over 430,000 tourists came from the UK alone - the country that was now the first to stop flights from here.

With each passing day, South Africa is bleeding more and more. The country has already crashed financially and is now experiencing that its legs are knocked out once again.

It risks creating more extreme poverty, which in turn means more death and more suffering.

The surrounding countries are closely linked to South Africa's economy and they are also being hit hard.

It seemed easy to introduce flight stops and red listings, but now many here are wondering if it can be just as quick to reverse the decisions.

Especially now that Omikron has already been found in many places in the world.

Nor does anyone know where the mutation originated.

Believes that the flight stop was wrong

In Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has for a long time waged a verbal war against the West - which does not support him in the Tigray conflict.

On Sunday, his spokesman Bilene Aster Seyoum took the opportunity to mix the messages and take the flight stop as proof that the West is happy to sacrifice southern Africa, just as it did with Ethiopia.

In principle, she is supported by the WHO, which believes that the flight stop was wrong.

There is an incipient rift in many places between West and Africa.

This is especially evident in the French-speaking countries, where the French military presence has become increasingly sensitive.

The fact that southern Africa feels unfairly punished by the West definitely risks widening that rift.

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Analysis: Southern Africa is bleeding and the rift towards the West is widening

The country has crashed economically

Believes that the flight stop was wrong

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