In a televised address on Wednesday (11 November), president Cyril Ramaphosa said the country would dramatically scale back its Covid travel restrictions.

Ramaphosa said South Africa would open up international travel to all countries, subject to various health protocols – including certification of a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of arrival.

The president said the country would use rapid Covid tests and strict monitoring to control any spikes in Covid infection resulting from the move.

He added he expected the measures to "greatly assist businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors", Reuters reports.

The UK, along with France, the US and a number of other countries with high rates of Covid infection, has – to date – been on the country’s high-risk list, restricting entry.

Meanwhile, the UK government is yet to announce any quarantine-free travel corridors with African countries.

South Africa’s rate of new Covid cases per 100,000 over the past seven days is just under 20, some 10 times lower than that of the UK.