South Africa has ruled out imposing restrictions against travellers from China in the wake of global concerns about a surge in COVID-19 infections in the Asian country.
China has witnessed a spike in coronavirus infections since dropping its tough zero-COVID policy that imposed mandatory testing as well as strict enforcement of lockdowns in some areas in December.
South Africa’s Ministry of Health said it would not “overreact” by locking down travellers from China as has happened with other countries that have imposed restrictions on those travelling from Asian country.
The ministry’s deputy director general Nicholas Crisp said South Africa has already been exposed to the variants that China was currently experiencing.
“One must take and be very cautious, remember what other countries did to us locking down borders prematurely when they already had the virus in their own countries,” Crisp told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
He added: “We must be very cautious of overreacting. We are not the only country.”
He said South Africa would continue to assess the situation in China before making any decisions on additional precautions.
“There are many countries who are saying this is not the route to go and we will be meeting daily to establish exactly what the picture is before we make any decisions on how we are going to react.”
A number of countries have put in place requirements for all travellers from China to produce negative COVID test results or requirements for mandatory testing upon arrival from the Asian country.
These include Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.
JN/APA