Tourist haunts to stay closed
People leaving SA will be tested at airports
TOURISM Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has announced that tourist attractions across the country will be closed during the nationwide 21-day lockdown.
“We are saying to tour operators and tour guides, you have an obligation to be responsible and protect South Africans and tourists themselves,” the minister said.
Speaking at an inter-ministerial briefing in Pretoria, Kubayi-Ngubane said tourists departing the country would be subjected to testing for coronavirus at three airports – OR Tambo International, Cape Town and King Shaka International in Durban.
Kubayi-Ngubane advised that tourists should plan for an extra hour at the airport for exit testing.
“We are appealing to tourists who are leaving to make some extra time to be processed before you get to immigration.
“We want to make sure that as a sector we can be seen as being responsible,” she said.
She appealed to tour operators and tour guides to act responsibly so that there were no incidents where a tourist tested positive for Covid-19 but continued to tour the country.
“We have been able to interact with the sector and we are receiving co-operation,” the minister said.
International flights to Lanseria Airport will be temporarily suspended. International travellers who arrived in South Africa after March 9 from high-risk countries will be confined to their hotels until they have completed a 14-day quarantine.
She said her department would be assisting small businesses in the tourism sector affected by the lockdown.
Under the lockdown, South Africans will be required to stay at home from midnight tonight, until midnight on Thursday, April 16.
South African National Parks (SANParks) announced its decision to close all its tourism facilities to the public with effect from yesterday, March 25, to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
SANParks chief executive Fundisile Mketeni said: “We would like to assure our staff and visitors that their health and well-being is of critical importance.”
He said overnight guests had been asked to vacate the parks yesterday and to ensure they have adequate time to return to their homes by the lockdown time tonight.
Day visitors will also not be permitted to enter the parks.
He said guests from high-risk countries resident in the parks who arrived in the country before March 9 were instructed not to leave.
According to Mketeni, no amendments or postponements would be penalised or charged extra fees (T&Cs apply).