Long queues at the border due to ebola screening

The South African government has introduced ebola screening at the Beit Bridge border post, resulting in massive congestion of traffic and long winding queues of travellers entering the country ahead of the festive season.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health in Limpopo, Mr Macks Lesufi, said that the exercise, which was introduced two weeks ago, was aimed at curbing the possible spread of the deadly ebola virus into South Africa. Ebola has so far claimed more than 6 000 lives in West Africa and the countries affected  mostly are Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

“We are now entering the festive season during which we get an increase in the number of travellers entering our country. We have therefore introduced a screening process at all ports of entry in South Africa and the travelling public should appreciate that as a country and responsible citizens we cannot compromise when it comes to health issues.”

He added that they want to protect citizens and “our department wants to ensure that all protocols are adhered to and there won’t be any shortcuts.”

He said that so far no cases of ebola had been detected at Beit Bridge border, the busiest inland port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa.

Travellers have, however, expressed concerns over the delays at the border due to the ebola-screening process. Travellers had to go through a scanner which detects possible fever, but once cleared a traveller is then issued with a card, which they then present to Home Affairs for clearance to enter South Africa. Those suspected of having the symptoms of the ebola virus are referred to medical doctors on the site.

“The process is taking much of our time and we urge the authorities to speed up, so that we don’t spend several hours at the border in the extreme December heat. I have been in the queue for five hours and it is an issue of grave concern to us as travellers,” said Mrs Maria Tlou, a Beit Bridge resident.

Another traveller, Mr Jacob Ndou of Musina, said that he visited relatives in Zimbabwe and on returning he was subjected to six hours of standing in the queue for ebola screening. “It is a tedious exercise and inasmuch as we don’t want ebola to spill into South Africa, we urge the border authorities to review the process. This is an inconvenience to travellers.”

The situation is expected to grow worse as the number of travellers is bound to increase as the peak period approaches. Beit Bridge gets extremely busy during this time of the year, as many Zimbabweans are flocking home ahead of the festive period. When Limpopo Mirror visited the border post on Monday, there was a high traffic volume and long winding queues of travellers at the ebola-screening centre.

Date:12 December 2014

By: Mashudu Netsianda

Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.

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