S.Africa says tourists from high-risk countries still barred from Oct. 1

Leisure travellers from countries with coronavirus infection rates higher than South Africa, including Britain, the United States and France, will not be permitted to enter when South Africa's borders open up on Oct. 1, ministers said on Wednesday. But business travellers from countries considered "high-risk," which also include the Netherlands, Russia and India, with scarce and critical skills including diplomats, repatriated persons and investors will be allowed to enter, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said.

Leisure travelers from countries with coronavirus infection rates higher than South Africa, including Britain, the United States, and France, will not be permitted to enter when South Africa's borders open up on Oct. 1, ministers said on Wednesday.

But business travelers from countries considered "high-risk," which also include the Netherlands, Russia, and India, with scarce and critical skills including diplomats, repatriated persons, and investors will be allowed to enter, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said. "We will review the data every two weeks," Pandor told a news conference, saying the government would be guided by epidemiological data when deciding which countries were deemed high-risk.

President Cyril Ramaphosa this month eased lockdown restrictions in a country that had one of the world's strictest at the height of its COVID-19 outbreak. The easing included opening up to air travel, bringing relief to its badly battered tourism industry. The tourism sector makes up almost 9% of the GDP of Africa's most industrialized country and employs nearly three -quarters of a million people, according to the country's tourism marketing agency and the statistics office. SA Tourism, the marketing agency, has said nearly 440,000 tourism jobs are at risk because of the pandemic.

Last year, South Africa welcomed over 10 million foreign visitors. The top 10 origin countries, which accounted for 73% of tourist arrivals, include the United States, United Kingdom, France, India, and the Netherlands, all of which are on the "high-risk" list read out by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.