After the United Kingdom, on Thursday (25), announcements of border closures to countries in southern Africa have multiplied. From the European Union, through the nations of the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, including Brazil, there are few airports where flights from South Africa can still land.
In South African terminals, foreign tourists are panicking and trying at all costs to find alternatives to return to their home countries. In Johannesburg, Lynette (who did not give her last name) is desperate to board any flight to Australia after a family vacation in South Africa.
“I came to see my parents, who I hadn’t met for three years. The Australian government reopened the borders recently, so I took the opportunity to come visit my parents. But now I can’t go back to my house. It’s horrible,” he says in interview with the RFI.
In front of the Ethiopian Airlines check-in counter, a huge line awaits assistance. It is through the capital Addis Ababa that Maria and her mother will be able to return to Norway. A travel agency managed to find a flight for them at the last minute.
“We should return with British Airways, but our plane was canceled when we were in the middle of the woods without internet. Great!”, quips the Norwegian tourist, who also did not give her last name.
In the same line, a Swedish golfer, who prefers not to be identified, was waiting to be seen. He traveled to South Africa for the Johannesburg Open, which was eventually canceled because several foreign athletes rushed to return to their home countries after the first announcements of border closures.
David, responsible for the Swedish sportsman’s sports equipment, can’t wait to get home. “It’s scary to be here when they just discovered this new variant. I want to leave as soon as possible,” he says.
Given the increased demand for last-minute flights, tickets are sold at a golden price. Two German friends told RFI that they had paid 1,900 euros (more than R$12,000) to get to Munich via Ethiopia.
South Africa feels “punished”
The South African government lamented the closing of borders to its citizens and travelers and considered that the fact of having discovered the new omicron variant of the coronavirus thanks to the competence of its scientists is “punishing” the country.
“These travel bans punish South Africa for its advanced ability to sequence genomes and more quickly detect new variants. Scientific excellence should be applauded, not punished,” the government said in a statement.
“We also see that there are new variants detected in other countries. None of these cases have a recent relationship with southern Africa. And the reaction with these countries is radically different from that generated by cases in southern Africa,” lamented the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the text.
The South African government highlighted that the World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend that similar measures be taken and called for a “scientific, risk-based approach”.
On Friday (26), the Health Minister of South Africa, Joe Phaahla, denounced the decision of several countries to close their doors to this region of the continent before even knowing the dangers of the new variant. “Some leaders are looking for scapegoats to solve a problem that is global,” he said.
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