The news that Australia has finally lifted its travel ban against South Africa on Wednesday 15 December has been welcomed by tourism industry stakeholders. This is another big relief with regards to the South African travel industry which has taken a huge knock during the recent travel bans which lasted a total of three weeks.
According to Business Insider, Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly had the following to say about relaxing the travel ban:
“In line with other countries — including the United Kingdom — the border measures under the Biosecurity Act 2015 restricting travellers who have been in the eight Southern African countries [including South Africa] from entering Australia has now ceased.”
Prof Paul Kelly
Australia follows suit in lifting SA travel ban
As other countries have begun to lift their South African travel ban, Australia made the decision to follow and grant our country access. However, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are definitely protocols and procedures that travellers entering Australia from South Africa are still expected to adhere to.
COVID-19 protocol for travellers
According to Kelly, the procedure for travellers entering the country are as follows:
“All arrivals to Australia require a negative COVID-19 PCR test [nose and throat] within three days of travel and by law must complete Australian traveller declaration forms declaring their vaccination status and confirming that they are aware of state and territory public health requirements.”
Who may enter?
It is also important to note that only certain visa holders will be allowed into the country and that mainly includes those who are students and workers in Australia. This also includes Australian citizens and the immediate family of anyone who lives in Australia.
Although there are still heavy restrictions regarding leisure travel, the lifting of its travel ban will hopefully provide much-needed relief to South Africa’s travel industry. Slowly but surely, the world is opening up again for our country…
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