Following an announcement on 10 July 2020 from the Office of the Presidency allowing intra-provincial leisure travel under the advanced Level 3 lockdown restrictions, this was then retracted 30 hours later.
In a now deleted tweet, the Presidency published an infographic detailing activities that can take place under the restrictions, which have been revised on an ongoing basis to mitigate against the risk of COVID-19 infections.
“We picked up an error in the previous graphic which suggested that accommodation for leisure travel was permitted. This is not the case.”
“Here are the activities that are now allowed at Level 3. We picked up an error in the previous graphic which suggested that accommodation for leisure travel was permitted. This is not the case,” the Presidency tweeted.
The retraction was met with backlash on the social media platform as South Africa’s travel and tourism industry continues to experience significant losses, with the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) putting this at R68 billion.
The retraction was met with backlash on the social media platform as South Africa’s travel and tourism industry continues to experience significant losses, with the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) putting this at R68 billion.
Amended regulations clarifying under the Disaster Management Act were gazetted on 12 July 2020 and can be found here. In this, the regulations state that hotels, lodges, bed & breakfasts, timeshare facilities and resorts, and guesthouses, can only be used for accommodation if:
- Tourists are confined to these facilities;
- It is for work purposes;
- Guests are in quarantine or isolation.
- There is a specific exclusion for leisure purposes, with short-term home-sharing, letting, leasing or rental, as well as domestic passenger air travel for leisure purposes remaining banned.
