SOUTH Africa will reopen 20 land border crossings to allow normal travel, lifting restrictions implemented last month to control rising coronavirus infections, the Home Affairs Ministry said yesterday.

The ministry said land border points, including those with Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana, would reopen after being closed on January 11.

“The active and orderly management of people through our borders is an important part of the country’s overall risk-adjusted approach to control the spread of Covid-19,” said Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

Motsoaledi will visit the Lebombo Border Post, one of the four busiest land ports, on the border of Mozambique on Monday to monitor the processing of travellers.

South Africa has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent, with more than 1.4 million cases and over 47,000 deaths.

It has been hit hard by the second wave of infections linked to a new variant called 501Y.V2 which was identified in South Africa late last year.

Source – Thomson Reuters Foundation