The Department of International Relations and Cooperation is pleased to announce that 16 South Africans who were stranded in Dubai and Doha, respectively, have been successfully repatriated back to South Africa.
They arrived yesterday, 02 April 2020, following the announcement by the President of the relaxation of the restrictions to allow South Africans stranded abroad to travel back home.
The group is currently under quarantine as per the regulations.
Another group of about 16 citizens stranded in Germany is expected to return from Frankfurt over the weekend.
With more countries requesting to repatriate their citizens from South Africa, the Department will be using the opportunity to bring back more South Africans using the chartered flights.
To date, our Missions and the Command Centre in Pretoria have registered a total of 2 313 South Africans stranded abroad due to the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus, which led to many countries closing their borders. Of these, 726 are students, 600 people are workers, 492 are tourists, and 495 haven’t disclosed.
In line with Minister Pandor’s instructions, the Department is prioritizing those who are stuck at the airports, the students who have been asked to vacate their residences, the elderly and the sick.
The Department wishes to assure all the South African Citizens stranded abroad that it empathises with their plight and is doing whatever it can to assist them to be safe, as comfortable as possible and to travel back to South Africa.
Enquiries:
Clayson Monyela
Spokesperson for Dirco
Cell: 082 884 5974
