Beitbridge traffic now queues for up to 15km – ruleswithwithabigcoronavirusriskfromCovid-19
A big coronavirus risk from Covid-19 rules
JOHANNESBURG - Stringent Covid-19 regulations – including testing, symptom screenings, and curfews – is being blamed for a traffic jam stretching for kilometres on both sides of the Beitbridge border post between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Now the backlog may actually be hastening the virus’ spread near Musina, and a super-spreader event cannot be ruled out.
According to reports from law enforcement officials conducting roadblocks just north of Musina, and truck drivers stuck in a stagnant queue of vehicles, the traffic backlog leading to Beitbridge ranges between 10km and 15km, across two lanes.
Frustrated freight truck drivers attempting to pass into Zimbabwe report being stuck at the border for more than 24 hours.
Passenger vehicles, taxis, and busses all battle to edge ahead of the slow-creeping queue. Many motorists and travellers caught in the December dash are forced to sleep in their vehicles.
While these scenes aren’t unusual during the busy festive season – in 2019, more than 200,000 travellers crossed into Zimbabwe in the week leading up to Christmas – complications arising from Covid-19 protocols are leading to longer delays even while travel is discouraged.
Although Beitbridge border is regarded as a 24-hour post, curfews in both Zimbabwe and South Africa have stopped operations between 22:00 and 04:00, with only freight-carrying vehicles allowed through during those hours, while passenger vehicles and pedestrians may not cross.
All people passing through the border post are required to present a negative Covid-19 test which is adding further pressure to the already-burgeoning backlog. Thupeyo Muleya of the Beitbridge Bureau reports that travellers caught up in the traffic jam arrive at the border post with “expired” Covid-19 test results.
South African regulations require all persons to present a negative Covid-19 certificate no older than 72 hours. Travellers argue, however, that due to delays on the border, these valid certificates, which were acquired before setting out on their journeys, expire before reaching the actual border checks. An expired Covid-19 certificate forces travellers to cough up more money for a roadside resampling, or trip back to a public clinic in Musina – and then travellers have to join the back of the queue again.
The consequences could be deadly, with travellers mingling with little sign of social distancing, and without running water.
And although the situation on the South African side of the border has been noted with serious concern as a potential super-spreader event, Covid-19 risks in the small town of Beitbridge have been described as a “humanitarian crisis.”
Mike Fitzmaurice, the executive director of the Federation of
East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta), described the grim condition in an open letter to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
Fitzmaurice says there is another dangerous aspect to the situation.
“The bribery and corruption is a huge opportunity (for corrupt officials)… it’s unbelievable what’s going on there right now,” says Fitzmaurice. “They’re even paying health officials to bypass the (Covid-19) test.”
Roadside traders have also started to charge exorbitant prices for goods, knowing that the stuck travellers have few options to acquire food or water, without abandoning their vehicles in search of the nearest store. Fitzmaurice says that motorists, out of desperation, are paying almost R15 for a litre of water.