By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The UK has removed South Africa and ten other countries from its maligned ‘red list’ for travel.
South Africa and other southern African nations were slapped with a travel ban in late November after local scientists detected the new Omicron variant and shared the information with the global community.
The UK was first to issue a ban on the region, which was swiftly followed up by many other countries in an attempt to limit the spread of the new variant. In the weeks following the bans, however, the Omicron variant was detected widely across the world, in patients who had no ties to South Africa or any of the other banned nations.
Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe were singled out by the UK, and will now be removed from the list.
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid reportedly conceded that the Omicron variant has spread so widely that the travel bans serve no purpose.
“Now that there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad,” he told parliament.
“Whilst we will maintain our temporary testing measures for international travel we will be removing all 11 countries from the travel red list effective from 04h00 tomorrow morning (Wednesday 15 December).”
Sajid is reportedly looking at releasing those currently in the mandatory ten-day quarantine early, and possibly reimbursing those who have incurred costs.
The bans on South Africa and other nations were widely condemned by the tourism industry and medical scientists and researchers. President Cyril Ramaphosa called the bans “unjusified and unscientific”, while the World Health Organisation deemed them entirely unnecessary.
Local businesses and tourism groups, meanwhile, suffered immense damage as flights and accommodation bookings got cancelled en masse, setting up a bleak festive period for an industry that was already battered from a shutdown in 2020.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has welcomed the lifting of the ban.
Addressing the department’s end-of-year media briefing on Tuesday, International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, said the unscientific travel ban had a devastating impact on two-way business, travel and tourism, and families.
“We are pleased that diplomacy is bearing fruits. Some [countries] have already begun lifting these restrictions that are inflicting so much harm on our economy and families,” Pandor said.
Pandor said it is disheartening to note that even after revelations that the Omicron variant had long been in the backyard of many countries who rushed to close their borders, some have “remained silent [with] no further acknowledgement”.
Also commending the UK’s decision to remove South Africa from the red list, Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the latest decision to remove 11 African countries from the list means that hotel quarantine is no longer required for those returning to the UK from South Africa, as of 4am on 15 December.
“Today’s announcement by the UK government is a step in the right direction for South Africa’s tourism sector. When South Africa was added to the red list last month, the implementation of hotel quarantine instead of at home quarantine was a huge deterrent for Brits who were considering travelling to South Africa at a time when our tourism industry was just beginning to recover,” Sisulu said.
Sisulu said the Omicron variant is being closely monitored to contain the virus and ensure the appropriate safety measures are in place.