Although local authorities confirm that no cases of variant B.1.1.529, known as Omicron, have been detected on the islands, the Ministry of Health has decided to apply new travel measures, both for visitors, Seychellois nationals, and residents traveling from the Southern African region.
As of Saturday, November 27, and until further notice, visitors from South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe are not permitted entry into Seychelles. Accordingly, travel to South Africa and the other countries named above is strongly discouraged.
The national airline, Air Seychelles, has canceled all flights from Johannesburg to Seychelles, with three exceptions – December 1st, 17th, and 19th. Passengers already in Seychelles, with bookings to Johannesburg, should contact their airline about their departure flights.
According to the new measures, everyone already in Seychelles and who has been to these countries in the last two weeks must perform a PCR test between 5-14 days after arrival. Those who have been in Seychelles less than five days should wait for Day 5 to do the PCR test.
It should be noted that Seychelles welcomes all visitors irrespective of their vaccination status, as long as they present a negative PCR test that must be taken within 72 hours before arrival, except for visitors coming from countries on the restricted list mentioned above. No quarantine is required for visitors entering Seychelles. However, they are being strongly encouraged to be fully immunized before travel.
It should also be noted that Israel has once again added Seychelles to its list of banned countries, which currently consists of 50 African nations. Travel to these countries is prohibited till further notice, barring a few exceptions and the approval of a special committee headed by the Ministry of Interior.
Until we can revisit the beautiful islands, here’s some further reading:
Seychelles: Best hotels and resorts on Mahé
