FEDHASA has welcomed the discussions between International relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor and the UK government about its travel ‘red list’ and the inclusion of South Africa.
“The travel restrictions on travellers from South Africa have severely impacted trade and tourism between South Africa and the UK and FEDHASA is hoping for a positive outcome emanating from the discussions,” says Rosemary Anderson, FEDHASA National Chairperson.
Pandor held talks with the UK’s foreign secretary Dominic Raab about mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic between the two economies and the best way to deal with the pandemic.
South Africa’s high commission in London has also held discussions with UK’s ‘minister for Africa’ James Duddridge in this regard, she said.
“As the government, we firmly believe that our country must be removed from this red list as soon as possible, and this is based on a number of issues,” The Minister said.
Some of the reasons Pandor gave for removing South Africa from the red list include:
- The government has launched an extensive public awareness campaign on the Covid-19 virus, and South Africans are taking the necessary precautions to prevent the virus from spreading.
- The government vaccine rollout is fully on track, and many South Africans have had their first jab of the Pfizer vaccine and are awaiting their second jabs, with the number of people opting for the one-shot J&J vaccine also on the increase.
- Having covered the most at-risk demographics, the government recently announced that people over 18 could be vaccinated.
- The South African government continuously monitors the Covid-19 situation and has established testing sites all over the country which are easily accessible by the general population.
- Statistics indicate that Covid figures have decreased steadily, and the government has reduced lockdown levels to reflect this.
- South Africa successfully hosted the British and Irish Lions rugby tour, during which all Covid-19 protocols were observed.
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