16 Mar 2020

Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) chief executive officer, Ms Myra Sekgororoane has appealed to the hospitality industry to think domestic tourism in the advent of coronavirus.

Speaking at a one-day meeting organised by BTO for Kasane hospitality industry players recently, Ms Sekgororoane said it was obvious that the local hospitality industry was losing international tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a pandemic due to its rapid spread and severity throughout the world.

“A lot of countries, including Botswana, are now suffering from cancellation of bookings by international tourists hence domestic tourism is the only alternative to sustain the industry,” she said, expressing fear that some tourism business were likely to close down.

Ms Sekgororoane also noted that BTO had cancelled most of its external events, adding that the situation would remain so until the situation had normalised.

Regarding local events under the direct control of BTO such as the Khawa Dune Challenge, Makgadikgadi Epic and the 1 000 Desert Race, Ms Sekgororoane said her organisation was yet to finalise on whether or not to stage them.

District Health Management Team chairperson, Dr Amos Mabuku said Kasane was a high risk area for the disease due to its numerous points of entry namely such as the Ngoma and Kazungula border posts as well as the Kasane Airport.

“This poses a high risk looking at the influx of foreigners entering Botswana. The disease is at our doorstep,” he added.

He noted that from February 5 to date, Kasane registered over 41 000 people coming in from all over the world with 18 000 coming from China.

In preparation for the outbreak, Dr Mabuku said they were working round to clock to secure enough space for isolation rooms. He noted that they managed to secure one room at Kasane International Airport and two at Kasane Primary Hospital.

He also said they had taken the war against the virus to 20 churches in order for them to sensitise members and the community about the disease as part of their mobilisation strategy.

Giving a global update, Ministry of Health and Wellness public health specialist, Dr Lebapotswe Tlale said there were over 120 000 confirmed cases of the virus and that the number continued to increase daily.

He said about 4 200 people have died in over 120 countries that had been affected by the virus so far while 30 cases of infections were reported daily.

Dr Tlale appealed to hospitality industry players not to discriminate against anyone coming from countries affected by COVID-19.

“Remember that public health has no boundaries and we should not stigmatise people who are suspected to have contracted the virus,” he added.

 Dr Tlale also said sending specimens to the regional testing laboratory in South Africa did not mean there were no machines that could be used to conduct testing locally.

“We have it and it may be used at anytime from now. Sending samples to the regional laboratory in South Africa is a requirement by the World Health Organisation who have designated regional testing centres and South Africa happens to be the regional testing centre for the SADC region,” he said.

Dr Tlale expressed hope that because the country was landlocked, it could be of help as a substantial number of people would have undergone numerous screening before reaching the country. Ends