With the lockdown a day away, South African National Parks (SANParks) announced it will close all their tourism facilities from March 25, 2020.
The organisation said that guests from high-risk countries who were currently staying at any of the parks will not be allowed to leave. SANParks will make arrangements to ensure their safety during the lockdown.
The organisation took to Twitter on Tuesday night to share the news.
“Dear Clients of SANParks, we are dealing with not only an unprecedented situation but one that is fluid and unpredictable.
"Following additional advice from key government departments, it is with regret that we have to make a major amendment to decisions made earlier today (March 24) regarding the closure of our tourism facilities.
“All tourism facilities in SANParks will be closed from Wednesday 25th March and not Thursday 26th. Guests will not be allowed to enter any national park whether as a day or overnight visitors from Wednesday 25th until further notice,” the statement said. (sic)
It added: “Secondly, all guests from high-risk countries currently resident in the parks are instructed NOT to leave the parks. All such guests have been identified and staff on the ground will provide them with support and further information regarding their travel arrangements as well as facilitate contact with their embassies.”(sic).
The organisation said staff will exercise compassion and respect towards the guests “to get us all through this crisis.”
They encouraged travellers not to cancel, but to postpone their travel plan to a later date, a time when it was safe to travel.