New Variant Puts South Africa At Risk Of Global Shut Out
NDTV
The restrictions deal another blow to South Africa's battered tourism industry, which buckled under the weight of border shutdowns and stop-start domestic lockdowns over the past year and a half.
South Africa's recovery from its deepest economic contraction in almost three decades risks being derailed by the identification of a new coronavirus variant that prompted several European nations to ban travel to and from the country right before its summer holiday season.
The restrictions deal another blow to South Africa's battered tourism industry, which buckled under the weight of border shutdowns and stop-start domestic lockdowns over the past year and a half.
"This will be a significant setback to South Africa's already vulnerable tourism sector, which was preparing to see an influx of offshore visitors, armed with hard currency, over the festive season," said Siobhan Redford, an economist at FirstRand Group Ltd.'s Rand Merchant bank.
The UK, which accounts for the largest share of overseas tourists to South Africa, has already announced a temporary ban on flights to the country and five of its neighbors over concerns about the new discovery, called B.1.1.529 until a Greek letter is assigned to it by the World Health Organization.
