South Africa’s hard lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus came into force a year ago, upending lives and businesses across the continent’s most industrialized economy. Yet few industries suffered more than tourism.
The initial order that shuttered all but critical services for three weeks from March 27 was quickly extended to five by president Cyril Ramaphosa, and restrictions were only slightly eased through the months of May and June. The country’s borders remained shut to all but essential travel until mid-August, along with a domestic ban on crossing provincial boundaries.
Even after that, the identification by South African scientists of a new, more transmissible variant of the virus turned the country into an…