Covid-19: France removes South Africa, Lesotho & eSwatini from the scarlet red list!

The Government of France yesterday (05 January 2022) announced that South Africa, Lesotho and eSwatini are set to be removed from the scarlet red list through which citizens of the three countries were blocked from travelling to France following the detection of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in South Africa. This means that all vaccinated travelers are now welcome to travel to France, provided they present the following documents:

• proof of vaccination status
• a sworn statement certifying the absence of Covid-19 symptoms and of any contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19
• a negative PCR or antigen test taken less than 48 hours prior to departure (departure of first flight in case of connecting flights)

Unvaccinated travellers must present a compelling reason for travel and will have to quarantine for ten days.

UPDATE: South Africa has been removed from the scarlet red list. Vaccinated travellers can come to France provided they show their vaccination certificate and a negative PCR or antigen test (-48h). No quarantine required for vaccinated travellers. https://t.co/W7h0TK9zlj

— France in S. Africa (@FrenchEmbassyZA) January 6, 2022

Germany restricts travel from South Africa over Covid-19 variants!

Due to the German Federal Police's instructions of 29 January 2021, passengers from virus variant-areas are subject to respect extended travel conditions. According to the Robert Koch Institute, South Africa is one of the virus variant countries. The Lufthansa Group, for instance, is currently only permitted to carry the following booked passengers on departures from South Africa to Germany:

• Passengers with German nationality or passengers with a valid residence permit in Germany (upon presentation of a German registration certificate).  
• Passengers of other nationalities but only if they have a connecting flight to a "Non-Schengen state" and do not leave the transit area in Frankfurt or Munich.
• All passengers mentioned in the two points above must present a negative test result (PCR, antigen, RT-LAMP or TMA) at the time of departure, which is not older than 48 hours before the scheduled time of entry in Germany and complete an online registration on the site www.einreiseanmeldung.de
• All guests with final destination in Germany must follow the local German quarantine regulations.
• All passengers with a connecting flight to a destination outside Germany must observe the entry regulations of the corresponding destination country in addition to the above-mentioned obligations.

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Covid-19: Lesotho goes into a 14-day lockdown! [update]

update (04 March 2021): International travel in and out of Lesotho remains prohibited while the country is under re-adjusted colour code "purple" (Moderate Community Transmission Stage). For more info click here.

update (03 February 2021): International travel in and out of Lesotho remains prohibited while the country is under "orange level" lockdown. Public recreational areas (parks) also remain closed. For more info click here.

update (03 February 2021): According to the US Embassy in Lesotho, Lesotho has decreased the lockdown alert in the country to "orange level" effective today (03 February 2021). Restrictions remain in place for many activities including mandatory masks in public places, a nationwide curfew each day from 21:00 to 5:00, and limits gatherings of any kind to a specified number of attendees. We'll keep you posted!

update (29 January 2021): The Prime Minister of Lesotho, Dr Moeketsi Majoro announced on 27 January 2021 that the hard lockdown has been extended with 7 days effective from 27 January 2021 midnight to 03 February 2021 (Wednesday next week).

The Government of Lesotho has decided to put the country on a two-week total lockdown starting from midnight on 14 January 2021. The Prime Minister of Lesotho, Dr Moeketsi Majoro, announed the decision when addressing the nation on state television on 12 January 2021. The shutdown means Lesotho has been put to an adjusted red colour coding stage due to the high rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths. During the adjusted lockdown, the following measures will be implemented:

• no movement across the country's borders except for:
• essential goods and services
• migrant workers
• medical reasons (with permits)
• funerals for parents, children, siblings and grandparents
• the nationwide curfew will be from 19:00 to 06:00
• social/family gatherings, entertainment industry, sporting events, gyms, and political gatherings will be restricted except essential goods and services
• retail and supermarkets, grocery shops and cafes will be open only from 08:00 to 16:00
• retail and supermarkets, grocery shops and cafes should restrict the number of people entering the store to one person/m²
• health service providers, food and agriculture, financial services, communication service providers, filling stations will continue to provide services
• 4+1 taxis will be permitted to carry three passengers, 15 seater taxi will be allowed to carry 10 passengers, while 22 seater and bus will be allowed to carry 70% capacity and no standing passenger
• taxi owners must acquire a permit from traffic department
• funerals are expected to operate as follows: for outdoor burial of private family members services, a number of people is restricted to a maximum of 10 and the service to take not more than 2 hours, no buffet service but only prepacked meals.

Coronavirus pandemic: Namibia imposes a travel ban on Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Arandis in the Erongo Region!

Namibia's President Hage Geingob today (06 July 2020) announced in a televised press conference that the current stage four measures in the country will be maintained for all 13 regions with exception of the Erongo Region, which remains under stage three until midnight on 03 August 2020. President Geingob said additional measures are necessary for the Walvis Bay Local Authorty area, the Swakopmund Local Authority area and the Arandis Local Authority area, which have been placed under a special dispensation. This is due to the exponential increase of cases of Covid-19 in the Walvis Bay Local Authorty area. The introduction of these measures is done with the sole objective of containing the spread of disease within and beyond these three towns.
The Government of Namibia has imposed a travel ban with the exception of essential and critical goods and services on the Walvis Bay Local Authorty area, the Swakopmund Local Authority area and the Arandis Local Authority area. No travel into our out of these three Local Authority areas will be permited until midnight on 03 August 2020. Travel between other towns in the Erongo Region and to the rest of Namibia will be permited, with exception of the Walvis Bay Local Authorty area, the Swakopmund Local Authority area and the Arandis Local Authority area. Any person leaving the Walvis Bay Local Authorty area, the Swakopmund Local Authority area and the Arandis Local Authority area to any part of the country - apart from providers of critical goods and services - will be quarantined for a period of 14 days at own cost.
As of 06 July 2020, 485 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Namibia. Of the total number of cases confirmed nationally, 436 (or 90% ) are from the Erongo Region, with 391 of these cases specifically in the Walvis Bay Local Authorty area.

Coronavirus pandemic: Namibia implements a travel ban on foreign nationals from high-risk countries!

According to the 4th (2020) decision making cabinet resolution on additional measures to strengthen Namibia's preparedness and response to COVID-19 outbreak (17 March 2020) [link], Namibia has suspended the issuance of visa on arrival at the Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) in Windhoek and implemented a travel ban on foreign nationals (by air and sea) from affected countries, namely Schengen States, China, Iran, Korea, United Kingdom, United States of America and Japan. The travel ban to be reviewed regularly.

Coronavirus outbreak: Botswana closes borders to all individuals coming from high-risk countries!

The Government of Botswana has imposed a travel ban on individuals coming to Botswana from countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic ("high risk countries"). These include China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, USA, UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and India. Batswana and residents of Botswana returning from high risk countries will be subjected to 14-day mandatory quarantine. The issuanace of visa at ports of entry or at all embassies for any person from high risk countries is suspended with immediate effect. Current visa are also cancelled with immediate effect until further notice. We'll keep you posted!

Kenya bans entry for people coming from any country with reported coronavirus cases!

Kenya has banned entry for people coming from any country with reported coronavirus cases. Only Kenyan citizens and any foreigners with valid residence permits will be allowed to come in provided they proceed on self-quarantine or to a government designated quarantine facility. All persons who have come into Kenya in the last 14 days must self-quarantine. The directive takes effect on 17 March 2020 and will last 30 days or until further notice. We'll keep you posted!

Namibia suspends all inbound and outbound travel from Qatar, Ethiopia and Germany!

Namibia's president Hage Geingob announced on 14 March 2020 that the government of Namibia has suspended all inbound and outbound travel from Qatar, Ethiopia and Germany for 30 days to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus. Following the directive, the flag carrier of Namibia, Air Namibia, has temporarily canceled all flights between Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) in Windhoek and Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Frankfurt, Germany, for a period of 30 days. All passengers on the affected flights will be offered two options:

• re-routing through alternative and partner airlines
• immediate full refunding

Passengers opting for re-routing will be offered one night accommodation only (where applicable), whilst finalising their itinerary. We'll keep you posted!

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Coronavirus outbreak: South Africa to close borders to all citizens from high-risk countries!

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared the Coronavirus outbreak a national disaster and announced a raft of unprecedented interventions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa. These include the closing of 35 ports of entry and imposing a travel ban on foreign nationals from countries hardest hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. The travel ban will be imposed from 18 March 2020 on foreign citizens who come from Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, United States, Germany, United Kingdom and China. Additionally, any foreign national who has visited any of the high risk countries in the past 20 days will be denied a visa. South African citizens returning from these countries will be subjected to testing and self-isolation or quarantine on return. Travellers from medium risk countries such as Portugal, Hong Kong and Singapore will be required to undergo high intensity screening. All travellers who have entered South Africa from high risk countries since mid-February will be required to hand themselves over for testing. We'll keep you updated!