“We did it, no more PCR for fully vaccinated travellers.”
These were the jubilant words from the CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, who – along with industry bodies such FEDHASA and SATSA – has long been lobbying for the costly, and risky, tests to be scrapped.
In his latest address to the nation earlier this evening (March 22), President Cyril Ramaphosa, announced changes to Alert Level 1 lockdown regulations which included an announcement that international travellers entering South Africa will need to show proof of vaccination or get a PCR test,
He added: “All unvaccinated travellers entering the country who wish to be vaccinated will be offered a vaccination.”
Other welcome changes to the regulations include that masks are no longer mandatory outdoors and that both indoor and outdoor venues can now take up to 50% of their capacity.
This is provided that the criteria for entrance to the venue is a proof of vaccination or a COVID-19 test not older than 72 hours.
Another obstacle
Another obstacle to overcome is the draft regulations issued by the Department of Health last week which, in their current format, continue to place unnecessary obstacles to the growth of tourism in South Africa, according to Rosemary Anderson, National Chairperson of FEDHASA.
“The draft regulations retain meaningless restrictions that are no longer fit for purpose, such as temperature checks, recording lists of patrons and other restrictions that have already been proved not to be a useful way to stop the spread of COVID. It’s like we’ve gone backwards to the beginning of the pandemic,” highlighted Anderson.
There is a further clause (15 B) that requires any traveller exiting South Africa to have in their possession a valid vaccination certificate or negative PCR test not more than 72 hours before departure, regardless of the requirements of their destination country.
