The Department of Health in South Africa said it will not impose Covid-19 travel restrictions and that wearing of masks in public will not be made compulsory.
On Tuesday 10 January, the health department had a media briefing about the country’s Covid-19 status after it was reported that South Africa has detected its first case of XBB.1.5 Omnicron subvarient.
The Minister of Health in South Africa Dr Joe Phaahla, said the new subvarient has caused panic across the world, especially after it was reported that there has been a surge of infections in few countries including the Republic of China.
Dr Phaahla said some countries have imposed special requirements for travellers coming from China including Morocco and other twelve countries. These requirements include a negative PCR test of less than 48 hours.
“South Africa’s natural immunity is still very strong, which puts the country in a better position amid the increase of infections globally,” said Dr Phaahla.
Dr Phaahla also indicated that the vaccinations are one of the reasons why South Africa has no major changes in the rate of infections. He told the media that people of South Africa have strong immunity to the virus because of vaccinations.
He said after following consultations with the Ministry advisory committee as well as World Health Organisation, department of health decided not to impose travel restrictions. Travellers from countries with high Covid-19 infection rates like Republic of China, will not be subjected to travel restrictions.
“I want to emphasize that the new subvarient of Covid-19 has indicated no severe illness so far, even in the Republic of China. It is just that more people are infected in the Republic of China because there is a huge number of them traveling in and out of country,” Dr Phaahla added.
Certain measures would be taken including Covid-19 testing when people experience symptoms of fever, even though the country will not re-impose Covid-19 restrictions.
The government will continue with vaccination campaigns to encourage people to be vaccinated. Deputy Minister of Health , Dr Sibongile Dlomo said the public will not be forced to wear masks unless someone wants to. However, he urged people aged fifty and above to get additional booster shots.
“As the government we say it is not compulsory to wear a masks and also schools will not be required to make use of masks,” said Dr Dlomo.
