The Vice-President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane, announced today (March 24) that the movement of people from neighbouring countries – including Lesotho and eSwatini – had been restricted.

Announced on the Botswana Government Twitter account, Batswana and residents of Botswana returning from these countries will be quarantined for 14 days.

The government has also prohibited travel to and from identified high-risk countries. “To this end, non-citizens and non-residents coming from those countries are prohibited from entering Botswana at any point of entry,” said Tsogwane.

The countries are Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Chechnya, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Iran, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

Botswana citizens and residents returning from these high-risk countries will be subjected to mandatory quarantine for 14 days with immediate effect. All these measures are with immediate effect.