South Africa Opens its Borders to International visitors

South Africa officially reopened for tourism on October 1, 2020, as announced by the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa was one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and they shut their borders on March 27, 2020. However, recently they have seen a drop in numbers and the government started to ease the restrictions and the country moved to alert level 1. Now, South Africa is opening its borders to all international passengers.

South Africa Opening Borders To All Countries

Initially, South Africa opened its borders on Thursday, October 1, 2020, to international passengers, but not from all countries. The government decided to form a list of 60 high-risk countries to which the borders would remain closed. Now, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country will be opening its borders to all international passengers. However, no official date has been set yet. This is very good news for everyone interested in traveling since it is the perfect season to visit South Africa.

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa said in an official announcement:

As our economy has been steadily opening up and restrictions on movement and activity have been eased, we have been able to turn our attention from emergency measures towards an ambitious plan of economic reconstruction.

Keep in mind that all the safety measures will remain in place. All passengers will be required to present the negative result of a PCR test, taken no longer than 72 hours before departure. The president said that all passengers will have to go through health screening upon arrival. If passengers show symptoms they will be required to take a PCR test and quarantine. President Ramaphosa also said that all visitors will be required to download the government’s contact tracing alert app for the duration of their stay.