KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has lifted a travel ban on eight southern African countries that had first reported the Omicron variant of the coronvirus, citing the greater spread of the variant worldwide, its health minister said on Tuesday.

The eight countries, which include South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, will remain on a list of nations deemed as high-risk, with travellers from those nations subject to additional restrictions upon arrival, minister Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters.