Virus variants have an easy passage to SA

The identification of a new variant of the Covid-19 virus in SA must compel us to ask tough questions about what appears to be lax protocols as far as international travel to our country is concerned.

At the weekend, health minister Zweli Mkhize announced that a variant first detected in India was identified in SA from four people who all had recently travelled from that country. Another 11 people were identified to have a variant first detected in the UK, with two of them having recently travelled from Bahrain.

By their nature, viruses mutate and different variants continue to emerge, making the global fight against Covid-19 more difficult. This is why many countries around the world have put in place strict measures for international travellers, especially those who come from countries with rapidly increasing infection rates.

In SA, however, the requirements to enter and travel domestically appear to be lax. Visitors are only required to produce a negative Covid-19 test not older than 72 hours.

On arrival, a traveller is screened for any Covid-19 symptoms. They are required to provide proof of accommodation while in the country should they need to selfquarantine at the time of arrival.

Should they display symptoms, only then is a traveller mandated to take a Covid-19 test and if positive, they will be subjected to a 10-day quarantine at their cost.

A loophole of this system is that it relies on the integrity of a Covid19 test conducted in another country three days before a traveller lands in SA.

It also means should a traveller produce a negative test result – regardless of its credibility – and not display symptoms, they are assumed to not be infected and thus allowed to enter and travel the country with no further precautions such as a mandatory quarantine for a period of time.

This is why we support the call by the ministerial advisory council for the tightening of regulations for people entering SA.

Council chair Prof Koleka Mlisana said an advisory had been sent to the minister proposing further restrictions, especially for people coming from countries that have high rates of infection. It is a call our government must heed urgently if we are to avert further calamity caused by this virus.