South Africa’s government scientific experts recently met with their UK counterparts to discuss the country’s ongoing presence on the UK’s so-called red list, a list of nations drawn up to discourage tourism due to Covid-19 risks, as well as the decision not to recognise coronavirus vaccines administered locally.
The outcomes of these talks will be considered as part of the UK’s review of border measures over the next two weeks, South Africa’s Department of Health said on Monday, 27 September.
The department also said that the UK was looking at extending recognition of vaccine certificates ‘as rapidly as possible’. South Africa has been been furious about its continued inclusion on the red list, and the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (Satsa) is lobbying for South Africa’s removal from the UK’s red list.
If travellers enter the UK from a red-list country, they must undergo a mandatory quarantine on arrival at a cost of £2 285 (R46 960). The UK also won’t recognise visitors as vaccinated unless they received doses in a select group of countries, regardless of the vaccine given.
According to Bloomberg, South Africa has officially exited its third wave of infection, with daily infections falling to below 1 000 on Sunday. About 21% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.
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