Netherlands bans all passenger flights from South Africa to Jan. 1

The Dutch government has imposed a temporary entry ban for all passenger flights arriving from South Africa. The ban was put in place starting Monday at 9 p.m. in response to a different mutation of the coronavirus that is similar to the highly contagious variant which prompted the Netherlands, Belgium, France and 31 other countries to disallow arrivals of commercial passenger travel which originated in the United Kingdom.

The Cabinet acknowledged that citizens and residents of the Netherlands could be trapped in South Africa because of the decision and said it would only provide consular assistance if it determined it was necessary. People stuck in South Africa were advised to arrange for accomodation as the situation unfolds.

"The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) has stated in its most recent advice that a strain of the Covid-19 virus has been identified in South Africa that has some characteristics in common with the strain from the United Kingdom, although the strains are not identical," wrote Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, the Infrastructure Minister, in a letter to Parliament on Monday night. She said the flight ban will be lifted by the start of New Year's Day, and it could be cancelled earlier if the European Union coordinates on a strategy or if "an effective national testing obligation has been realized for travelers from South Africa.

Like the entry ban against modes of transportation arriving from the UK, cargo flights and their crews as well as the necessary transportation of medical personnel are exempted from the new rule. Anyone arriving from South Africa or another high-risk area must enter quarantine for 10 days, the minister said, though she did not state how or if the Dutch government would enforce that.

She reiterated statements from Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge that travel abroad is "strongly discouraged" and creates a greater risk for outbreaks of the coronavirus in the Netherlands. "It is irresponsible to travel abroad if not stictly necessary, and the Cabinet calls on everyone to follow this urgent advice," she wrote.