A slow start: 2 European countries open up to SA

South Africans will now be able to enter Denmark and the Netherlands after these countries eased the entry restrictions they imposed on a number of countries in southern Africa late last month due to the discovery of the Omicron variant.

The two European Union (EU) countries have eased their travel restrictions against South Africa as a result of the EU’s commissioner for justice Didier Reynders’ recent request for the lifting of travel bans imposed on several Southern African nations by its member states.

Reynders said the bans were inefficient because the EU had other tools, including quarantines and testing, to manage the flow of travellers from countries with several omicron cases.   

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DENMARK LIFTS ENTRY RESTRICTIONS

On Wednesday Denmark scrapped the travel restrictions it had imposed on ten countries in southern Africa late last month, to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Danish authorities said that these restrictions did little to control the spread of the new variant.

The countries that are now subject to Denmark’s general travel restrictions include South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini (Swaziland), Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Malawi and Zambia.

News24 says that travellers from these countries will still need to present negative test results on entry and must undergo isolation on arrival in Denmark.

NETHERLANDS LIFTS ENTRY BAN

The Netherlands is the latest country to drop its travel ban against South Africa. The adjustment came into effect on Thursday. Travellers visiting the Netherlands from southern Africa will have to comply with testing and quarantine requirements.

ENCA states that both vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers must be in possession of a negative PCR test not older than 48-hours before departure or an antigen test that is less than 24-hours old.

Travellers from countries such as South Africa, which are designated high-risk destinations, will also need to quarantine for 10 days on arrival in the Netherlands.