South Africa is now a national disaster zone due to the spreading coronavirus pandemic which has hit 61 people in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared on Sunday.
According to the president, all the 61 victims brought the disease into the country from outside of Africa – namely from Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, United States of America, Germany, Britain and China.
The travel ban of foreign citizens entering the country from these nine states will become effective from 18 March, Ramaphosa said.
Due to this, “we have cancelled visas to visitors from those countries from today. Previously granted visas have been revoked as well,” the president said.
With this new status, he advised, South Africans should refrain from all forms of travel to or through the European Union, the United States, Britain and other high risk areas.
“This is effective immediately,” he said, adding that any foreign national who had visited any of the high risk countries in the past 20 days would be denied a visa.
“South African citizens returning from these countries will be subjected to testing and self-isolation or quarantine on return. Travellers from medium risk countries such as Portugal, Hong Kong and Singapore will be required to undergo high intensity screening.
“All travellers who have entered South Africa from high risk countries since mid-February will be required to hand themselves over for testing. We will strengthen screening and testing measures at the OR Tambo, Cape Town and King Shaka International Airports.”
The president also announced that, out of the country’s 53 land ports of entry, 35 of them will be shut down starting on Monday, while two of the eight sea ports will be shut down as well “for passengers and crew changing.”
Classifying the country as a national disaster zone will “will enable us to have an integrated and coordinated disaster management mechanism that will focus on preventing and reducing the outbreak of this virus.
“We will also be able to set up emergency, rapid and effective response systems to mitigate the severity of its impact,” the president said.
He added that “we are now dealing with internal transmission of the virus. This calls for an extraordinary response – there can be no half measures.”
NM/jn/APA