The United States, United Kingdom and France are still included on the list.
Passengers are welcomed by family and friends after the first international flight touched down at the Cape Town International Airport on 1 October 2020 after the South Africa government eased a coronavirus travel ban. Picture: Kevin Brandt/EWN
JOHANNESBURG – Home Affairs has revised the list of high-risk COVID-19 countries from 60 to 22.
However, the United States, the United Kingdom and France are still included.
Home Affairs has also revealed that over 4,000 international travel applications have been received from mostly investors in agriculture, manufacturing, mining and tourism.
While the updated high-risk country list means that people from these destinations cannot travel to South Africa, special clearances have been issued to visitors conducting business, critical skills visa holders and investors among others.
Interestingly, the Home Affairs Department said that in the first two weeks of launching COVID-19 business travel, where people inquire to visit the country, at least 335 investors daily applied to visit the country.
In a statement, the department said that this showed that South Africa remained an attractive investment destination.
This comes after a Cabinet consideration to review the list of high-risk countries to strike a balance between saving lives and protecting livelihoods.
However, nothing has changed concerning travellers from other countries on the continent, meaning that they will still be welcome in the republic after undergoing COVID-19 protocols.
COUNTRIES ON SA’S HIGH-RISK COVID-19 LIST:
- Argentina
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- France
- Germany
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Italy
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Peru
- Philippines
- Russia
- Spain
- United Kingdom
- USA
