The travel ban imposed on South Africa announced by the United Kingdom and other countries are throwing the tourism industry into chaos.
The United States and Australia have also joined the list of countries banning traveling from southern Africa.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, many still feel that the travel ban is unnecessary. Africanews reports
“So this is hugely important for Cape Town. There are tens of thousands of families that rely on the tourism industry. And the whole day I’ve been flooded with messages from tour operators saying “we had a full December booked with tours for the first time”, small hotel owners and BnB owners saying everyone’s canceled. It’s just really, really bad news”, laments Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor of Cape Town.
The World Health Organization cautioned against imposing travel restrictions, saying it would take weeks to understand the implications of the newly discovered strain.