There’s light at the end of the tunnel. The UK, traditionally our biggest source of tourism, has finally removed our country from the travel red list, opening the doors from Monday for fully vaccinated travellers to freely move between the two countries right as our holiday season is about to kick off.
We were also added to the list of locations with approved Covid-19 vaccine programmes, which means South Africa’s vaccine certificates will also be regarded as valid proof of vaccination and travellers from South Africa will no longer have to fork out around R45k to quarantine for ten days on their arrival in the UK. Fully vaccinated travellers also no longer need to take a pre-departure test before arriving in England.
The announcement, just days after the traffic light system was scrapped in favour of just a red list and as the department of health adds the final touches on a digital vaccine certificate, was greeted with an immediate jump in enquiries from UK travellers. Satsa estimates that over 300,000 British passport holders could flock to the country.
The UK added insult to injury when it added South Africa to the red list five months after imposing travel restrictions in December last year. The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates the economy has lost R790m for every month South Africa has been on the red list, reports Business Insider SA.
Now we just need to accelerate our vaccination drive.
Casting a dark shadow on the bright spot, Eskom started Stage 2 load shedding last night and will resume switching off the lights tonight at 9pm to 5am tomorrow to replenish emergency generation reserves.
Meanwhile, in the markets, the rand went from star performer yesterday firming to R14.82 at one stage, to lacklustre this morning as caution returns to the market ahead of today’s US payrolls data. At last count, the currency was trading at R14.96 against the US dollar.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
R1.88m from Digital Vibes deal funnelled to May Mkhize’s farm loan — family’s ‘cut’ climbs to R8.7m – Daily Maverick
Troubled South African sugar industry seeks biofuel subsidy – Bloomberg
LiquiFruit recalls some apple juice products amid concerns over mycotoxin – Fin24
Global Business
China’s energy crisis is hitting everything from iPhones to milk – Bloomberg
Tesla: Elon Musk says company headquarters will move to Texas – BBC
Chinese central bank boss vows to further fintech crackdown – AFP
Markets
Asian markets accelerate global rally as US default fears recede – AFP
Oil climbs on switch from gas and few signs of an easing supply crunch – Reuters
The SEC just approved the closest thing to a US bitcoin ETF you can buy, for now – Business Insider
Opinion/In-depth
National pension reform: Why it is imperative in South Africa – Daily Maverick
The impact of COVID-19 on black farmers in South Africa – The Conversation
ANC fails to stop the corruption train – 32 major scandals, four in 2021 alone – Daily Maverick
Video
Explained: What you need to know about voting in the municipal elections – News24
Why natural gas prices are breaking records in Europe? – Al Jazeera
Russian film crew blasts off to make first movie in space – Euronews
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