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The government faces a balancing act in selecting the countries that will be allowed to travel to and from South Africa under the new level 1 blockade.
High-level government sources have told the sunday time There are serious discussions about which countries to allow travel and which to place on the high-risk list, amid concerns that excluding South Africa’s closest trading partners could risk “diplomatic trouble.”
Specific discussions have focused on the country’s BRICS partners (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and whether they should gain access as a bloc.
This is compounded by the fact that Brazil and India have the second and third highest infection rates in the world. The restrictions would also put the US and some of the major EU countries on the high-risk list.
Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane told the newspaper that South Africa is using World Health Organization guidelines to determine which countries to allow entry when international travel resumes.
This includes factors such as transmission patterns, national public health and social measures to control outbreaks in countries of origin and destination, and public health capacity.
The high risk list will be reviewed every two weeks. If the infection rate of a banned country drops, it will be removed from the list, he said.
Kubayi-Ngubane said that people from countries considered high risk can be allowed into South Africa if they can show they have investments here or are coming for strategic work.
“If country A has been classified as high risk, someone who has invested in South Africa and has to come to check his project, can ask the Home Secretary to say that I have an investment and I want to check it.
“The minister can approve that person to come, as long as he produces a negative test within 72 hours after the trip,” he said.
tourism
The list of selected countries will also be of vital importance to South Africa’s travel industry, which has been decimated during the shutdown.
Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, Executive Director of the South African Tourism Business Council, said Reuters that many will be on the list of selected countries.
“If we don’t allow (people from) certain countries to travel (here) there has to be an adequate scientific and statistical model and explanation. This can turn into a public relations nightmare, ”Tshivhengwa said.
David Maynier, the Western Cape provincial finance minister, echoed these concerns, saying “the devil is in the details” and that upcoming regulations will play an important role in the recovery of tourism.
The Southern African Airlines Association (AASA) said authorities should act to accommodate business and leisure travelers and remove entry barriers such as visas and quarantine.
“We cannot afford to have travel deterrent requirements,” said Chris Zweigenthal, AASA CEO. The list of countries that will be allowed to take international travel is likely to be limited when travel resumes on October 1.
The list
South Africa Official level 1 lockout regulations, published on Friday by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, confirms that the country’s borders will be reopened on October 1.
On this date, all travelers from the African continent and from countries outside the African continent with a low rate of infection and transmission of Covid-19 will resume.
This will be subject to:
- The traveler who presents a valid certificate of a negative test that was obtained not more than 72 hours before the date of travel; and
- In case the traveler does not present a certificate as proof of a negative test, the traveler will be asked to self-quarantine.
To temporarily control entry into South Africa from countries outside the African continent, the relevant cabinet members, after consultation with the cabinet member responsible for health, will determine in the instructions:
- Criteria to control the entry into the Republic of those countries with a high rate of infection and transmission by Covid-19;
- The list of countries with a high rate of transmission and infection by Covid-19, which may, from time to time, be modified.
- International travel from countries listed as having a high rate of Covid-19 infection and transmission will remain prohibited, except for business travel that may be permitted with the approval of the cabinet member responsible for internal affairs.
Read: Here are the official level 1 lockdown rules for South Africa, including border opening and meeting limits
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