Tourism sector relieved that Joe Phaahla won’t impose new Covid-19 restrictions

As the country continues to battle the Covid-19 Omicron sub-variant, the tourism industry is relieved there won’t be restrictions introduced.

The sector has been assured by health minister Dr. Joe Phaahla who said the South African government would not impose any internal restrictions.

Per Independent Media, the XBB.1.5 sub-variant of the globally dominant Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa on December 27 by Stellenbosch University researchers and reported earlier this month.

Phaahla said scientists were producing more genomes to determine if the new coronavirus variant was spreading in the country.

In the meantime, there would be no restrictions on travellers from affected countries, such as China and the United States, and no restrictions would be placed on South Africans.

“We have consulted our Ministerial Advisory Committees and also the World Health Organization. In both cases the advice we received was that there was no need to impose any travel restrictions on any country, including the People’s Republic of China, and that we also do not need to re-impose any restrictions internally in our country,” Phaahla said as quoted by IOL.

“The XBB.1.5 has been detected more in the US, where its prevalence is rated at about 6.8% of the circulating sub-variants. While the various sub-variants have shown different levels of transmissibility, there has thus far been no marked change in the severity of illness.”

However, the minister confirmed that the government would be taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, as vaccination remains the bedrock to protect the population against any sub-variant.

In their response, the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) was encouraged that the scientific community has been clear in saying that despite its high transmissibility, there was no need for panic.

Fedhasa national chairperson Rosemary Anderson said this was not the first time a variant or sub-variant had been found, nor will it likely be the last.

“We are fortunate in South Africa to have world-class scientists and the benefit of a population which has achieved high population immunity. That does not mean we should be complacent, however, and we caution against any new regulations which would restrict travel and hospitality that is not firmly based on science,” Anderson said.

“The hospitality sector continues to employ stringent health and hygiene practices, as we always have, to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests. That will not change. As  far as we are concerned, it is very much business as usual.”