“We did it, no more PCR for fully vaccinated travellers!, says CEO of the TBCSA, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, who – along with industry bodies such FEDHASA & SATSA – has long been lobbying for the costly tests to be scrapped.
In his address to the nation last night, Pres. Ramaphosa, announced changes to Alert Level 1 lockdown regulations which included an announcement that international travellers entering South Africa will either need to show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative PCR test.
This will be welcomed by the SA travel industry too. Vaccinated SAns have been hesitant about travelling abroad due to the heavy expense clients, to pay for a PCR test in Euro or US dollars & because of the worry that if one should be symptomless & yet test positive in the PCR test, the inconvenience & expense of having to isolate in Europe/US until a positive test result is received could be quite serious.
Pres. Ramaphosa 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 & that both indoor & outdoor venues can now take up to 50% of their capacity. The criteria for entrance to the venue is a proof of vaccination or a COVID-19 test not older than 72 hrs.
Further changes include:
The lifting of National SoD to be lifted, as soon as public comment on the health regulations published by Health Minister has been completed.
Funeral max 200 pax. No ‘after-tears’ gatherings, vigils allowed.
Social distancing changed to 1m, except schools.
There is still an obstacle to overcome & that is the draft regulations issued by the Dept of Health last week which, in their current format, continue to place unnecessary obstacles to the growth of tourism in SA, 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 & 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 a traveller exiting SA to have in their possession a valid vaccination certificate or negative PCR test not more than 72 hrs before dept, regardless of the requirements of their destination country.
Taggers, continue to add ‘comment’ to the public regulations draft, push for the removal of unneccesary regulations so we can move forward together.
Jonathan Gerber Joelene Roberts Gavin Stevens Kim Parker Irene Van Aswegen Zoelfah Martin Candice October Gillian Hurford Candice Cabrita Alison Leon Nadine Morley Henry Annandale Kriloshni Gounden Shune Narodien