Yet again, it feels like policy makers have overreacted without giving thought for the longer-term implications of their actions, which can be even more damaging than the disease itself.

 “The impact this will have on the confidence of an already nervous marketplace will likely resonate for some time,” warns Jarrod Kyte, product and sales director for Steppes Travel. “This Covid-bolt from the blue will break hearts and bank balances alike and may well see some companies in southern Africa call it a day.”

Already the news is causing disruption in other parts of Africa.

“It’s not just the six nations that will be affected but the whole continent,” says Paul Goldstein, co-owner of Kicheche camps in Kenya. 

“It is scaremongering of the very worst kind and will, not for the first time, pour further blood on the hands of these misguided decision-makers. They chuck out arbitrary olive sprigs to the beleaguered industry, not understanding that it does not switch on and off like a gas tap, then they cut them down, root and branch.”

Even more worrying is the realisation that – until most of the world’s population is vaccinated – variants will continue to emerge. So, wouldn’t it be better to focus on increasing vaccine availability and uptake rather than turning our backs on countries who are already struggling to cope? 

“South Africa should be commended for the speed and transparency with which they have bought the world’s attention to this new strain,” points out Jarrod Kyte. 

“As the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley said so eloquently at COP 26, a pandemic requires global solutions and collaboration. In the coming weeks and months, it is vital that the safari industry works together to help southern Africa bounce back from this cruel blow.”