What does level 1 mean for your international travel plans?

After the announcement of the new lockdown level 1 regulations in line with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national address on Sunday evening, travel plans are back on track to a certain extent.

Ramaphosa confirmed South Africa would move to level 1 lockdown as the country has seen a decline in daily Covid-19 cases.

If you are itching to go away and take a vacation abroad, there are a few guidelines you need to know.

International travel plans in level 1:

• Travelling outside the curfew (12am-4am) for long-distance departures is permitted. The person travelling needs to be in possession of a valid boarding pass as proof of flight or a copy of the airline ticket.
• Five airports open for international travel with standard infection control measures are OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka, Kruger Mpumalanga and Lanseria airports.
• All international travellers arriving at these airports must provide a valid certificate of a negative Covid-19 test obtained no later than 72 hours before the date of travel.
• If the traveller fails to submit a negative Covid-19 test, they will be required to do an antigen test on arrival at the destination at their own cost.
• In the event the traveller tests positive for Covid-19, they will be required to isolate at their own cost for a period of 10 days.

In January and February, both the UK and the US banned South Africans from travelling to their countries amid warnings of a new, more transmissible coronavirus variant.

ALSO READ: Biden to ban travel from South Africa today: White House official

Travellers from South Africa are now allowed to travel to the US, according to the US Embassy website after the level 1 restrictions were announced.

Travel restrictions for US and UK pertaining to South African travellers:

• All airline passengers to the United States two years and older must provide a negative Covid-19 viral test taken within three days of travel.
• Alternatively, travellers to the US may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from Covid-19 in the 90 days preceding travel.
• Travellers from SA are still not permitted to travel to the UK unless they have a legally permitted reason to do so.

For travel plans to other countries, visit their embassy website to find out more about the restrictions and protocols in place.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.