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Added on the 23/12/2020 16:39:47 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
British national David Good, who has been on holiday in South Africa for a fortnight and hopes to get home before the UK travel ban takes effect, says that Covid-19 is "very serious,". But Good adds: "we're always going to have new variants, so I don't know how we're going to keep locking down every time we find a new variant." South African tour operators are flooded with cancellations after countries follow Britain's decision to ban travel from the region over the discovery of a new coronavirus variant. SOUNDBITE
British Prime minister Boris Johnson announces all pandemic legal curbs in England will end later this week, urging a shift from government intervention to personal responsibility. Johnson, who has been mired in scandals that have threatened his hold on power, says the legal need for people to self-isolate when infected with Covid-19 would stop from Thursday 24 February 2022. SOUNDBITE
Commuters walk through Victoria station in London at rush hour, some wearing masks and some without, as the British government scraps legal mandates covering the wearing of masks. All social distancing has been scrapped in England, with some media dubbing the day "freedom day" despite scientists' grave misgivings. IMAGES
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government has decided to "to move the country from coronavirus alert level three to alert level one." SOUNDBITE
South Africa will close the twenty remaining open land border posts with neighbouring countries for general entries and departures until February 15 to stem the spread of the coronavirus, President Cyril Ramaphosa says on a nationally televised address. SOUNDBITE