FEDHASA welcomes this week’s announcement regarding the further reduction in the current COVID-19 restrictions and urges Government to remove the compulsory PCR test required for inbound international and returning South African travellers who are fully vaccinated.
The PCR test requirement is a deterrent to international travel and consequently the recovery of our tourism and hospitality sector. Many other countries have already removed the requirement to furnish it if the traveller can prove that they have been fully vaccinated.
While we have been grateful to our domestic travellers for their support throughout the pandemic, there are many tourism and hospitality companies in South Africa which depend heavily on inbound international travel.
The removal of this requirement will go some way to making South Africa attractive to visit once again and in turn helping these companies rebuild, preserve jobs and contribute to the economy. A further deterrent is the requirement for visas and enhancing our eVisa system. For many inbound traveller, obtaining a visa to visit South Africa is onerous and an impediment to travelling to South Africa. One must balance ease of access with the security needs of the country and it is our fervent hope that a proper eVisa system, and visa waivers for important segments such as remote workers, are introduced as a matter of urgency.
One of the biggest problems facing South Africa is our mass unemployment, particularly in the youth segment of our population. Tourism holds the key to catalytic growth and job creation, but for it to contribute as it can and should an enabling environment is required and a good start would be to tackle this PCR test requirement and our visa regime.
Based on the trajectory of the pandemic and the levels of vaccination in the country, Cabinet has decided to make the following changes to Adjusted Alert Level 1 with immediate effect:
- Those who test positive with no symptoms do not have to isolate.
- The period of isolation for those who test positive with symptoms has been reduced from 10 to 7 days.
- Contacts do not have to isolate unless they develop symptoms.
All other health and safety regulations under Level 1 will remain. The public should continue to observe basic health protocols and government is urging people to get vaccinated to curb the spread of the virus.
An official circular is yet to be released; however, the Minister of Health will issue directives unpacking the updated regulations in the coming days.
To view the updated regulations, click on the link below:
