South Africa Lockdown Affecting International Sports

COVID-19 has impacted the standard way of living worldwide, with most nations enforcing a lockdown onto their population. Whenever infection numbers have entered low percentages, these nations have reopened their economies & hoped that a 2nd outbreak wouldn’t occur. The South African government followed suit with this strategy and saw similar implications of increasing positive tests for COVID-19. It’s prompted the SA Government to announce a secondary lockdown, which has implicated everything from religious gatherings to sporting events. Below we’ve provided details regarding how South African sports on a national & international level will be adjusted in-correlation with the updated lockdown measures.

The “SA Level One Lockdown Restrictions” were beginning to ease, with South Africa’s borders reopening for international tourists. October 3rd saw more than 1800 cases of the coronavirus throughout South Africa, meaning a secondary outbreak could quickly be implicated. SA Medical Experts are working diligently to avoid the record high of 13,944 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours.

National & International Sporting Events

International borders throughout South Africa haven’t shut down, prompting South Africa’s Minister of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs to release new directives. These directives focus on the resuming of international sports, which technically was permitted last month with professional cricket. Orders express that cultural activity, professional-level sports team, and art institutions must engage with nations supporting a “Low to Medium” percentage of COVID-19 cases.

Nations under this status will be green listed, with specialized transports provided by SA Military. It ensures that professional athletes can eliminate contacting the coronavirus. Countries with high transmission infections of the COVID-19 virus won’t be permitted for specialized transport or standard travel.

The Implications

Various SA Sporting Associations have formally released criticism towards the South African Government. Risking the lives of professional athletes by having them enter nations with “Low to Medium” infections is concerning. It could prompt an influx of infections back home, which has become a recent concern with the reimplemented lockdown. Standard to the South African Government, the financial gain associated with professionals competing in permitted nations is exponential. Conventionally, SA Government Personnel has ignored these individual’s safety for their economic glory. This was seen with SA Cricket and SA FIFA.