COVID19 – Guides

On March 15, 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic affecting South Africa and the world at large, President Cyril Ramaphosa officially declared a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act. The following measures are now in place:

1. Travel to South Africa by non-South Africans
   As of Wednesday, 18 March 2020, South Africa’s borders are closed to foreign nationals from the following high-risk countries:
   – Italy
   – Iran
   – South Korea
   – Spain
   – Germany
   – The United States
   – The United Kingdom
   – China
   No South African airports will be shut for the time being, but 35 of South Africa’s 53 land ports will be shut, and 2 out of 8 sea ports.
2. Travel by South African citizens
   – South African citizens cannot be barred from re-entry into the country, regardless of where their journeys began. However, citizens returning from the high-risk countries as listed above,
   will be subjected to testing upon return, followed by either being placed in quarantine or being instructed to practice self-isolation.- South African citizens who have returned from a high-risk country since mid-February must present themselves for testing.- There are no explicit travel prohibitions for South Africans, but citizens are advised to refrain from all forms of travel to and from the high-risk areas as indicated above.- Screening and testing measures at OR Tambo International, Cape Town International and King Shaka International airports are to be ramped up.- Government is calling on citizens to avoid all “non-essential” domestic travel – particularly by
   air, rail, taxi and bus.
3. Education
   – Schools will be closed from Monday 18 March until 13 April.
   – Universities in the country have announced their closure from 16 March.
4. Social distancing measures
   – A ban has been placed on gatherings of more than 100 people.
   – Mass gatherings scheduled to celebrate upcoming public holidays are cancelled.
   – There is currently no ban on commercial or leisure activities, though the government has called on the managers of malls, entertainment centres and other high-traffic establishments to bolster their hygiene control.
   -The same strengthened hygiene controls will be required of all public facilities, like Parliament, prisons and police stations.
   – Unavoidable small gatherings may still be held, but organisers will be required to put in place stringent measures of prevention and control.
   – Visits to prisons and other correctional centres will be banned for 30 days, with immediate effect.
5. Business
   – The President did not advise businesses to allow employees to work remotely where possible, though in many cases this is already happening.
   – A “comprehensive package of interventions” will be announced shortly after consultation with business, labour and other stakeholders.
   -The nature of economic interventions has not yet been specified.

This declaration affects all citizens of South Africa and we urge you all to observe these measures and stay safe and healthy. To this end, we encourage ITA member organisations to observe good hygienic
practices as promulgated by the Department of Health ( www.sacoronavirus.co.za ), the World Health Organisation ( www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 ) and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases ( www.nict.ac.za ) as these are aimed at curbing, managing, controlling and arresting the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

The health and safety of the ITA members remains paramount to us. While remaining vigilant to minimise in-person contact engagements, we highly encourage our members to maximise the utilisation of online and virtual collaboration tools such as remote working, video conferencing, telephone conferencing, instant messaging, eMail, social media and various technology platforms that have enriched our business engagements.

We are highly confident that technology will continue assist us to minimise the adverse impact of Covid-19 and assist us in contributing meaningfully in the socio-economic development of our country.

We are a resilient nation, and we remain confident that we shall overcome the Covid-19 pandemic as well.

Information relating to updates on the current status in South Africa, as well as links to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other reputable medical sources have been made available on the ITA website www.ita.org.co.za.

You can also use the Microsoft global COVID-19 Tracker for live updates http://bing.com/covid

The ITA and all its membership fully supports the government and all stakeholders in the measures implemented in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.