International travel gets green light
President Cyril Ramaphosa has given international travel the green light.
Restrictions on international travel were among the first to take effect when the lockdown was announced in March.
Ramaphosa addressed the nation from the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday evening where he announced a move to level 1 of the lockdown.
He warned that caution would still need to be exercised regardless of the eased regulations.
“With the move to alert level 1 we will gradually and cautiously ease restrictions on international travel. We will be allowing travel into and out of South Africa for business, leisure and other travel with effect from the 1st of October 2020. This is subject to various containment and mitigation measures.”
Only entry ports open during the lockdown will continue to operate under level 1.
“Travel may be restricted to and from certain countries that have high infection rates. A list of those countries will be published and will be based on the latest scientific data that we will be able to get on those countries,” said Ramaphosa.
“Travellers will only be able to use one of the land border posts that have remained operational during the lockdown or one of the 3 main airports – King Shaka International, O.R Tambo International and Cape Town International airports.
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Ramaphosa announces move to level 1
The move will take effect from midnight on Sunday. Ramaphosa addressed the nation from the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday evening. As expected, Ramaphosa announced the easing of restrictions due to the lower rate of Covid-19 infections over the past few weeks.
Travellers from overseas will need to bring a Covid-19 test proving they are negative.
All passengers will also be screened on arrival.
“On arrival travellers will need to present a negative Covid-19 test results not older than 72 hours from the time of departure from whence they will have come from.
“Where a traveller has not done a Covid-19 test prior to departure, they will be required remain in mandatory quarantine at their own cost. All travellers will be screened on arrival and those presenting or exhibiting symptoms will be required to remain in quarantine until a repeat Covid-19 test is conducted,” Ramaphosa explained.
Anyone planning on international travel must download SA’s Covid-19 tracing app.
Provincial borders for leisure travel were also recently opened.
Ramaphosa said ease of movement will boost the ailing tourism sector.
“The tourism sector is one of our greatest economic drivers. We are ready to open our doors again to the world and invite travellers to enjoy our mountains, our beaches, our vibrant cities and our wildlife game parks in safety and confidence.”
The various ministers that serve under the National Coronavirus Command Council are expected to provide more detail on the regulations in the coming days.
