SOUTH AFRICANS STRANDED ABROAD
Speaking Notes for the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, at the Press Briefing on South Africa’s Response to COVID-19 pandemic – 31 March 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and is giving rise to problems and challenges that governments across the world are struggling to deal with. Over the last two months the world has changed dramatically and this impacts on governance challenges. As DIRCO we have to focus on many fronts. The most important one is ensuring that we play our part in curtailing the spread of the virus in our population, so as to protect the most vulnerable amongst us. International travel restrictions as part of a social distancing strategies have been implemented by many countries in the world. These travel restrictions are accompanied by national strategies that limits movements of people through lockdowns to prevent transmission of COVID-19.
This has resulted in many travellers across the world finding themselves stranded in foreign countries, including many South Africans. We empathise with their plight and are doing whatever is within our means to assist them to be safe, as comfortable as possible and to travel back to South Africa.
Our missions abroad, have been collating data of South Africans stranded at airports and cities across the world as countries implement measures aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic
The most recent data on that we have suggests that we may have 1 471 South Africans stranded across the world. Of this number, 723 are students, 204 people who are workers, 224 tourists, 320 who haven’t disclosed. I cannot say that these numbers are 100 percent accurate as it is based on people who have approached us for assistance through our missions and consular services. There may be more people in need of assistance that we do not know about yet.
In order to make it easier for people, unable to make contact with the Missions abroad to contact us, my department has established a 24-hour Command Centre. The Command Centre contact details are as follows; +27 12 351 1754; +27 12 351 1756, e-mails are Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. and Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser..
In terms of the assistance Dirco is providing to stranded South Africans, I have directed that priority be given to those who are stranded at the airports, running out of accommodation, the elderly and the sick.
Our Missions where possible will continue to render consular services, including negotiating with the governments where there are lockdowns in order to facilitate the movement of stranded South Africans.
Given the difficulties associated with travel restrictions we appeal to those who can afford to return to do so at their own cost. Some have started organizing themselves into groups and have approached the Department to ensure their safe passage home. Others are students whose accommodation in crowded dormitories forced them to come home.
Some South Africans have explored options such as arranging private charter flights to SA. This can be done in cooperation with their travel insurance companies, their sponsors or in groups with other citizens in the same country. In such cases, we have requested our Missions to assist with obtaining flight clearances for chartered flights in the host countries and to get permission to depart on such chartered flight.
Some of our citizens have indicated that they are able to bring themselves home. My department will facilitate with logistics and consular services to enable them travel back safely.
For those who cannot depart, my department will be liaising with families and friends in SA to contribute to the payment for accommodation. Such funds can be transferred by Western Union or MoneyGram, commercial banks or via international EFT directly to the account of the institutions.
For the rest of the South Africans who might not be stranded or distressed, we have advised that they remain where they are to reduce movement until the end of the lockdown.
We also make a special appeal that they observe all the rules and regulations put in place by the authorities of the countries where they are in, as these are meant to curb the spread of this COVID-19 virus.
I have tasked our Missions to also determine from host countries whether the authorities can offer any assistance to foreigners stranded in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the issuing / extension of visas.
I must take this opportunity to thank all the countries that have assisted in this regard not with only consular services but also have donated both financially as well as with other resources necessary to fight the spread of this virus.
Our Consular Services Unit in our Head Office is monitoring calls of stranded South Africans daily to ensure that they are informed all the time.
We are aware of the anxiety the closure of borders must have caused to embassies. According to the WHO guidelines, countries have an obligation to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread across countries in order to stem the pandemic once and for all.
Our Missions and Head Office will continue to be in touch with all South Africans until they are comfortably reunited with their families. The Regulation require of all incoming nationals, irrespective of risk category, to undergo screening, testing and be quarantined.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Monday, 30 March 2020
Dear Fellow South African,
As we begin the first full week of the nation-wide lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic that is devastating the world, we are grateful for good news that brings us joy and hope at this difficult and uncertain time.
Yesterday, I was in Polokwane to meet the 114 South Africans who were evacuated from Wuhan in China two weeks ago. They have ended their quarantine and are finally going home to be with their families. They have all tested negative for the virus and are in good health and good spirits.
For months, they have been in lockdown, first in Wuhan for some 51 days and then in Polokwane for 14 days. They have been unable to be with their loved ones, unable to leave their living quarters and uncertain about when their ordeal would end. When we add the remaining 17 days that South Africa will be under lockdown they will have been under lockdown for 82 days.
It was wonderful to spend time with this diverse group of South Africans made up of all ages, languages and backgrounds. I was impressed by their resilience and courage and by their determination to remain healthy. They have come from the epicentre of the coronavirus in Wuhan in China and have seen the devastating impact this virus is wreaking on human life. It is not surprising to hear them say that they are on a mission to safe-guard the health of those around them. Now their patience and fortitude has been rewarded, because they are returning to their families.
Their return home was made possible by a great many people who went to great lengths to make this repatriation operation a success.
As a nation, we are extremely grateful to the Government and the people of China for taking such good care of our citizens, and for their assistance in organising their repatriation. It is significant that several of the South Africans in Wuhan were on study scholarships from the Chinese government; an act of generosity that is deeply appreciated.
We are grateful too to all the people who were involved in the operation, from the SAA fight crew to the medical team to the police and soldiers who brought them home. Each and every one of them stepped forward to take responsibility for the safety and well-being of others. They were prepared to undertake a difficult and dangerous mission and to subject themselves to quarantine. And now, they all tell me, they are ready for their next mission.
I wish to thank the staff and management of the Ranch Hotel in Polokwane, who took great care of the returnees. They were prepared to play their part in our national effort to overcome this disease. Everyone involved in this operation has done South Africa proud.
The experience of the South Africans in Wuhan demonstrates the effectiveness – and the necessity – of a state of lockdown. It was due to the drastic actions that the Chinese government took to contain the disease in the city of Wuhan, that all of our people were able to return uninfected and healthy.
Wuhan, a city of 11 million people in the province of Hubei, had more than 50,000 infections. Now, after more than two months after stringent lockdown measures were put in place, the province has had fewer than 20 new cases in the past two weeks.
The containment of the disease in Wuhan City, in Hubei Province and in other places across China required a massive and extraordinary effort. It involved drastic restrictions on daily life and is having a severe impact on the Chinese economy. Other countries that have taken similar measures are having greater success in managing the spread of the disease than countries that have been slower to respond.
As the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide grows to over 700,000 and the number of deaths exceeds 33,000, we can draw lessons from these countries.
It is now abundantly clear that the most effective way for a society to contain the spread of the disease is for the population to remain at home and physically isolated from each other for at least several weeks. And it is important that this lockdown and all other emergency measures are both strictly adhered to and consistently enforced.
As the South Africans from Wuhan can testify, such restrictions on daily life, on movement and on ordinary human contact are extremely difficult to endure. In the South African context, a lockdown brings additional hardship and strain, and we are doing everything within our means to lessen the impact on our people.
But the lesson from the South Africans in Wuhan is that a lockdown works. It shows that if we strictly observe the rules in place to stop the virus spreading, we will be able to bring infection rates down. It shows that if we cooperate with health authorities in doing what we have to do, we won’t be just saving our own lives but those around us too.
The story of our South African returnees from Wuhan should give us encouragement and hope in the difficult weeks that lie ahead.
Their story tells us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, that if we stay the course, that if we remain disciplined and respect the lockdown, that if we work together, we will overcome.
With best wishes,
President Cyril Ramaphosa
TEMPORARY MEASURES IN RESPECT OF FOREIGN NATIONALS IN LIGHT OF COVID-19 EPIDEMIC
Withdrawal of Visa Exemptions for travellers from COVID-19 High and Medium risk countries as determined by the World Health Organisation(WHO)
VISA EXEMPTIONS WITHDRAWN FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:
Germany
Italy
South Korea
Spain
United Kingdom
United States of America
France
Switzerland
*No foreign national departing from these countries will be allowed to enter the Republic of South Africa
Visas issued to persons from the following countries in terms of section 10(9) of the Immigration Act, 2002, has been cancelled with immediate effect:
Iran
People’s Republic of China
In terms of Section 10A(4)(c) of the Immigration Act, 2002, the Visa Exemption of passport holders of the medium risk countries has been withdrawn:
Hong Kong
Portugal
Singapore
South African citizens, PR holders and Refugees of South Africa returning from identified risk countries will be subjected to extensive screening on arrival.
Any foreign national who is already present in the Republic and originates from a country which is affected by the COVID-19 outbreak or who, in order to reach such destination of origin needs to transit a country which is affected by COVID-19, and whose temporary residence visa is due to expire or has already expired, will be allowed to re-apply for such a visa provided they meet all the prescribed requirements. Visas valid until 31 July 2020 may be issued to such applicants.
Any foreign national who originates from a country which is affected by the COVID-19 outbreak or who, in order to reach such a destination of origin needs to transit a country which is affected by the COVID-19, and who is the holder of a temporary visa which expired since 01 December 2019 and those which will be expiring up to 31 March 2020 will be allowed to re-apply for such a visa without the need to first obtain FORM 20 (Authorisation for an illegal foreigner to remain in the country pending an application for status)
These are temporary measures and is applicable until further notice.
LATEST UPDATE ON COVID-19: TESTING FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER
27 March 2020
With all international flights prohibited during the lockdown period, international tourists in South Africa will no longer be tested upon their departure at the airport.
The Department of Health will now do testing at all accommodation establishments where these international travellers are staying during the lockdown period.
South African Tourism has over the last week, called on all establishments to furnish details of international travellers staying with them.
South African Tourism is also encouraging all international tourists in the country, during lockdown, to inform their respective Embassies of their whereabouts.
For further information please visit https://www.southafrica.net/gl/en/trade/page/coronavirus-covid19-south-african-tourism-update/tourism-industry-faqs
Sisa Ntshona CEO: SA Tourism
STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON ESCALATION OF MEASURES TO COMBAT THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC
24 March 2020
Union Buildings, Tshwane
My fellow South Africans,
It is a week since we declared the coronavirus pandemic a national disaster and announced a package of extraordinary measures to combat this grave public health emergency.
The response of the South African people to this crisis has been remarkable. Millions of our people have understood the gravity of the situation.
Most South Africans have accepted the restrictions that have been placed on their lives and have taken responsibility for changing their behaviour.
I am heartened that every sector of society has been mobilised and has accepted the role that it needs to play.
From religious leaders to sporting associations, from political parties to business people, from trade unions to traditional leaders, from NGOs to public servants, every part of our society has come forward to confront this challenge.
Many have had to make difficult choices and sacrifices, but all have been determined that these choices and sacrifices are absolutely necessary if our country is to emerge stronger from this disaster.
Over the past week, South Africans have demonstrated their determination, their sense of purpose, their sense of community and their sense of responsibility.
For this, we salute you and we thank you.
On behalf of the nation, I would also like to thank the health workers, our doctors, nurses and paramedics who are on the frontline of the pandemic, our teachers, border officials, police and traffic officers and all the other people who have been leading our response.
Since the national state of disaster was declared, we have put in place a range of regulations and directives.
These regulations have restricted international travel, prohibited gatherings of more than 100 people, closed schools and other educational institutions and restricted the sale of alcohol after 6pm.
We reiterate that the most effective way to prevent infection is through basic changes in individual behaviour and hygiene.
We are therefore once more calling on everyone to:
- wash hands frequently with hand sanitisers or soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
- cover our nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with tissue or flexed elbow;
- avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.
Everyone must do everything within their means to avoid contact with other people. Staying at home, avoiding public places and cancelling all social activities is the preferred best defence against the virus.
Over the past week, as we have been implementing these measures, the global crisis has deepened.
When I addressed the nation last Sunday there were over 160,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide.
Today, there are over 340,000 confirmed cases across the world.
In South Africa, the number of confirmed cases has increased six-fold in just eight days from 61 cases to 402 cases.
This number will continue to rise.
It is clear from the development of the disease in other countries and from our own modelling that immediate, swift and extraordinary action is required if we are to prevent a human catastrophe of enormous proportions in our country.
Our fundamental task at this moment is to contain the spread of the disease.
I am concerned that a rapid rise in infections will stretch our health services beyond what we can manage and many people will not be able to access the care they need.
We must therefore do everything within our means to reduce the overall number of infections and to delay the spread of infection over a longer period – what is known as flattening the curve of infections.
It is essential that every person in this country adheres strictly – and without exception – to the regulations that have already been put in place and to the measures that I am going to announce this evening.
Our analysis of the progress of the epidemic informs us that we need to urgently and dramatically escalate our response.
The next few days are crucial.
Without decisive action, the number of people infected will rapidly increase from a few hundred to tens of thousands, and within a few weeks to hundreds of thousands.
This is extremely dangerous for a population like ours, with a large number of people with suppressed immunity because of HIV and TB, and high levels of poverty and malnutrition.
We have learnt a great deal from the experiences of other countries.
Those countries that have acted swiftly and dramatically have been far more effective in controlling the spread of the disease.
As a consequence, the National Coronavirus Command Council has decided to enforce a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days with effect from midnight on Thursday 26 March.
This is a decisive measure to save millions of South Africans from infection and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
While this measure will have a considerable impact on people’s livelihoods, on the life of our society and on our economy, the human cost of delaying this action would be far, far greater.
The nation-wide lockdown will be enacted in terms of the Disaster Management Act and will entail the following:
- From midnight on Thursday 26 March until midnight on Thursday 16 April, all South Africans will have to stay at home.
- The categories of people who will be exempted from this lockdown are the following: health workers in the public and private sectors, emergency personnel, those in security services – such as the police, traffic officers, military medical personnel, soldiers – and other persons necessary for our response to the pandemic.
It will also include those involved in the production, distribution and supply of food and basic goods, essential banking services, the maintenance of power, water and telecommunications services, laboratory services, and the provision of medical and hygiene products. A full list of essential personnel will be published.
- Individuals will not be allowed to leave their homes except under strictly controlled circumstances, such as to seek medical care, buy food, medicine and other supplies or collect a social grant.
- Temporary shelters that meet the necessary hygiene standards will be identified for homeless people. Sites are also being identified for quarantine and self- isolation for people who cannot self-isolate at home.
- All shops and businesses will be closed, except for pharmacies, laboratories, banks, essential financial and payment services, including the JSE, supermarkets, petrol stations and health care providers.
Companies that are essential to the production and transportation of food, basic goods and medical supplies will remain open.
We will publish a full list of the categories of businesses that should remain open. Companies whose operations require continuous processes such as furnaces, underground mine operations will be required to make arrangements for care and maintenance to avoid damage to their continuous operations.
Firms that are able to continue their operations remotely should do so.
- Provision will be made for essential transport services to continue, including transport for essential staff and for patients who need to be managed elsewhere.
The nation-wide lockdown is necessary to fundamentally disrupt the chain of transmission across society.
I have accordingly directed the South African National Defence Force be deployed to support the South African Police Service in ensuring that the measures we are announcing are implemented.
This nationwide lockdown will be accompanied by a public health management programme which will significantly increase screening, testing, contact tracing and medical management.
Community health teams will focus on expanding screening and testing where people live, focusing first on high density and high-risk areas.
To ensure that hospitals are not overwhelmed, a system will be put in place for ‘centralised patient management’ for severe cases and ‘decentralised primary care’ for mild cases.
Emergency water supplies – using water storage tanks, water tankers, boreholes and communal standpipes – are being provided to informal settlements and rural areas.
A number of additional measures will be implemented with immediate effect to strengthen prevention measures. Some of those measures are that:
- South African citizens and residents arriving from high-risk countries will automatically be placed under quarantine for 14 days.
- Non-South Africans arriving on flights from high-risk countries we prohibited a week ago will be turned back.
- International flights to Lanseria Airport will be temporarily suspended.
- International travellers who arrived in South Africa after 9 March 2020 from high- risk countries will be confined to their hotels until they have completed a 14-day period of quarantine.
Fellow South Africans,
Our country finds itself confronted not only by a virus that has infected more than a quarter of a million people across the globe, but also by the prospects of a very deep economic recession that will cause businesses to close and many people to lose their jobs.
Therefore, as we marshal our every resource and our every energy to fight this epidemic, working together with business, we are putting in place measures to mitigate the economic impact both of this disease and of our economic response to it.
We are today announcing a set of interventions that will help to cushion our society from these economic difficulties.
This is the first phase of the economic response, and further measures are under consideration and will be deployed as needed.
These interventions are quick and targeted.
Firstly, we are supporting the vulnerable.
- Following consultation with social partners, we have set up a Solidarity Fund, which South African businesses, organisations and individuals, and members of the international community, can contribute to.
The Fund will focus efforts to combat the spread of the virus, help us to track the spread, care for those who are ill and support those whose lives are disrupted.
The Fund will complement what we are doing in the public sector.
I am pleased to announce that this Fund will be chaired by Ms Gloria Serobe and the deputy Chairperson is Mr Adrian Enthoven.
The Fund has a website – www.solidarityfund.co.za – and you can begin to deposit monies into the account tonight.
The Fund will be administered by a reputable team of people, drawn from financial institutions, accounting firms and government.
It will fully account for every cent contributed and will publish the details on the website.
It will have a board of eminent South Africans to ensure proper governance.
To get things moving, Government is providing seed capital of R150 million and the private sector has already pledged to support this fund with financial contributions in the coming period.
We will be spending money to save lives and to support the economy.
In this regard, we must applaud the commitment made in this time of crisis by the Rupert and Oppenheimer families of R1 billion each to assist small businesses and their employees affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
- We are concerned that there are a number of businesses that are selling certain goods at excessively high prices. This cannot be allowed.
Regulations have been put in place to prohibit unjustified price hikes, to ensure shops maintain adequate stocks of basic goods and to prevent people from ‘panic buying’.
It is important for all South Africans to understand that the supply of goods remains continuous and supply chains remain intact.
Government has had discussions with manufacturers and distributors of basic necessities, who have indicated that there will be a continuous supply of these goods. There is therefore no need for stockpiling of any items.
- A safety net is being developed to support persons in the informal sector, where most businesses will suffer as a result of this shutdown. More details will be announced as soon as we have completed the work of assistance measures that will be put in place.
- To alleviate congestion at payment points, old age pensions and disability grants will be available for collection from 30 and 31 March 2020, while other categories of grants will be available for collection from 01 April 2020.
All channels for access will remain open, including ATMs, retail point of sale devices, Post Offices and cash pay points.
Secondly, we are going to support people whose livelihoods will be affected.
- We are in consultation on a proposal for a special dispensation for companies that are in distress because of COVID-19. Through this proposal employees will receive wage payment through the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme, which will enable companies to pay employees directly during this period and avoid retrenchment.
- Any employee who falls ill through exposure at their workplace will be paid through the Compensation Fund.
- Commercial banks have been exempted from provisions of the Competition Act to enable them to develop common approaches to debt relief and other necessary measures.
We have met with all the major banks and expect that most banks will put measures in place within the next few days.
- Many large companies that are currently closed have accepted their responsibility to pay workers affected. We call on larger businesses in particular to take care of their workers during this period.
- In the event that it becomes necessary, we will utilise the reserves within the UIF system to extend support to those workers in SMEs and other vulnerable firms who are faced with loss of income and whose companies are unable to provide support. Details of these will be made available within the next few days.
Thirdly, we are assisting businesses that may be in distress.
- Using the tax system, we will provide a tax subsidy of up to R500 per month for the next four months for those private sector employees earning below R6,500 under the Employment Tax Incentive. This will help over 4 million workers.
- The South African Revenue Service will also work towards accelerating the payment of employment tax incentive reimbursements from twice a year to monthly to get cash into the hands of compliant employers as soon as possible.
- Tax compliant businesses with a turnover of less than R50 million will be allowed to delay 20% of their pay-as-you-earn liabilities over the next four months and a portion of their provisional corporate income tax payments without penalties or interest over the next six months. This intervention is expected to assist over 75 000 small and medium-term enterprises.
- We are exploring the temporary reduction of employer and employee contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund and employer contributions to the Skill Development Fund.
- The Department of Small Business Development has made over R500 million available immediately to assist small and medium enterprises that are in distress through a simplified application process.
- The Industrial Development Corporation has put a package together with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition of more than R3 billion for industrial funding to address the situation of vulnerable firms and to fast-track financing for companies critical to our efforts to fight the virus and its economic impact.
- The Department of Tourism has made an additional R200 million available to assist SMEs in the tourism and hospitality sector who are under particular stress due to the new travel restrictions.
I want to make it clear that we expect all South Africans to act in the interest of the South African nation and not in their own selfish interests.
We will therefore act very strongly against any attempts at corruption and profiteering from this crisis.
I have directed that special units of the NPA be put together to act immediately and arrest those against who we find evidence of corruption.
We will work with the judiciary to expedite cases against implicated persons and make sure the guilty go to jail.
South Africa has a safe, sound, well-regulated and resilient financial sector. Since the global financial crisis, we have taken steps to strengthen the banking system, including increasing capital, improving liquidity and reducing leverage.
With a strong financial sector and deep and liquid domestic capital markets, we have the space to provide support to the real economy.
We can make sure money flows to firms and households. We can ensure that our markets are efficient.
Last week, in line with its Constitutional mandate, the South African Reserve Bank cut the repo rate by 100 basis point. This will provide relief to consumers and businesses.
The South African Reserve Bank has also proactively provided additional liquidity to the financial system.
The Governor has assured me that the Bank is ready to do ‘whatever it takes’ to ensure the financial sector operates well during this pandemic.
The banking system will remain open, the JSE will continue to function, the national payment system will continue to operate and the Reserve Bank and the commercial banks will ensure that bank notes and coins remain available.
The action we are taking now will have lasting economic costs.
But we are convinced that the cost of not acting now would be far greater.
We will prioritise the lives and livelihoods of our people above all else, and will use all of the measures that are within our power to protect them from the economic consequences of this pandemic.
In the days, weeks and months ahead our resolve, our resourcefulness and our unity as a nation will be tested as never before.
I call on all of us, one and all, to play our part.
To be courageous, to be patient, and above all, to show compassion. Let us never despair.
For we are a nation at one, and we will surely prevail. May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso. God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa. Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.
I thank you.