(4 minutes read)
· South Africa has reopened its borders to all African countries while barring tourists from around 50 nations with high coronavirus infection rates
· South Africa closed its borders at the start of a strict nationwide lockdown on March 27 as a precaution against spread of
Covid-19
· Three main airports in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg have already been opened
· The travelers will be required to present a negative coronavirus test taken less than 72 hours prior to departure.
South Africa has reopened its borders to all African countries while barring tourists from around 50 nations with high coronavirus infection rates.
South Africa closed its borders at the start of a strict nationwide lockdown on March 27 as a precaution against spread of Covid-19. Since then restrictions were eased in stages. But borders remained closed.
Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said the country still maintains restrictions in place for around 50 countries which have high risk of infection. Those include Britain, the US, India, Russia and France.
However, business travelers with scarce and critical skills, diplomats, investors and professional sports people coming for events from the high-risk countries will be permitted into the country. Travelers from all African countries are allowed since Africa in general is a low risk region as far as the pandemic is concerned.
Three main airports in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg have already been opened. The travelers will be required to present a negative coronavirus test report taken less than 72 hours prior to departure. Screening will be done on arrival and the passengers should have installed coronavirues tracking app in the mobile. The restrictions will be reviewed every week. South Africa suffered most in the continent on account of the pandemic, registering 672,572 infections and 16,667 deaths to date. This will work out to half the total number of cases detected on the continent.
