The South African dancer confessed her heart could only ‘take so much’ on Thursday, after learning of the new travel restrictions imposed on South Africa due to Covid-19 fears
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Strictly: Oti and Ugo theme their dance around Moana
Oti Mabuse is worried she may not be able to enjoy Christmas with her family this year.
The Strictly Come Dancing star shared her fears with her online fans on Thursday.
Posting to her Instagram page, the South African dancer shared a screenshot of a recent news article regarding the ongoing changes to international travel.
In recent days, six South African countries have been moved to the UK’s red travel list due to Covid-19 concerns.
South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe have all been put onto the list with travellers now requiring a quarantine hotel upon their return.
Oti Mabuse confided in her followers her fears of not being able to travel home for Christmas
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Image:
Getty Images Europe)
Oti – who was born in Pretoria, South Africa – seemed devastated by the news when speaking with her followers.
The Strictly star captioned her screenshot: “The heart can only take so much.”
Oti was recently eliminated from the hit BBC One show after being partnered with Ugo Monye, so would be free to travel home for a visit soon if she wished and was able to.
The award-winning dancer soon received many messages of support from fans and famous faces.
The star won last year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing with comedian Bill Bailey
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Image:
BBC/Guy Levy)
Davina McCall and sister Motsi Mabuse also added crying emojis underneath her heartbreaking post.
Bill Bailey, who won the BBC show with Oti in 2020, had a sweet message for his former dance partner.
“So sorry Oti- this is such a kick in the teeth after all this time. Sending love and good vibes . You know us, we are strong , the show must go on,” the comedian wrote while trying to comfort the sad star.
The dancing professional with Ugo Monye prior to their exit from the show earlier this month
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Image:
BBC/Kieron McCarron)
On Saturday, Oti’s sister, Strictly judge Motsi, called for the world to help South Africa, not punish them.
The star was forced to miss this weekend’s live shows after coming into contact with someone with Covid-19 – despite being double-jabbed.
Motsi received her vaccinations in Germany which are not currently recognised in the U.K, meaning she is forced to isolate and cannot return here until the end of the month.
Discussing the current restrictions and travel bans imposed on South Africa following news of a new variant of Covid-19, the star showed her support for her home country.
Sister Motsi Mabuse has been vocal with her opinions about the current situation
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Image:
BBC)
On Friday, South Africa’s Health Minister Joe Phaahla slammed the restrictions on travellers from the country because of a newly identified COVID-19 variant, after a British ban on flights from southern African countries that others have followed.
Motsi showed solidarity with the country via her Twitter account, engaging in many conversations about the restrictions and stating South Africa needs help, not judgement and blame.
In one Twitter exchange, she claimed politicians are “just taking decisions to look good” when it comes to banning travel from certain countries.
She wrote: “It’s frustrating! But very fast to stigmatise South Africa and some of the poorest countries in the world !”
“Speaking to many South Africans who are devastated today !!!!” she began another tweet with.
“If this pandemic is not handled as a global situation nobody is free !!First world ,comes first solutions won’t work ! Check on your friends !!!! #Covid”
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