PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has eased restrictions aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic to the country’s lowest alert, Level 1, in a desperate attempt to ensure that the economy recovers as quickly as possible, so that government can start creating more jobs and help businesses to get back on their feet.
In a televised address, Ramaphosa announced the country would move down one level in a five-tier system of restrictions, where five is the highest, to an ‘adjusted level 1’ as South Africa emerges from its third wave dominated by the Delta variant.
The third wave, which lasted more than 130 days, saw a peak of around 20,000 new cases a day, the president said.
“In the last seven days, the average number of new cases was at around 1,800 a day. There are also sustained decreases in Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths in all provinces. This is news that is welcome to all of us,” said Ramaphosa.
“Naturally, we all want to resume many of the activities that we have been unable to do for much of the past two years. We want to attend traditional rituals, birthday parties, weddings and other social functions freely with our friends and family.”
As the cases decrease, he said that the country will move to lockdown level 1 on Friday, and that restrictions will be eased in the following areas:
· The hours of the curfew will now run from 00h00 – 04h00;
· Non-essential establishments will need to close by 23h00 to allow employees and patrons to return home before curfew;
· The number of people permitted to attend indoor gatherings will increase to 750 people, while up to 2,000 people may attend outdoor gatherings;
· Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used.
· The sale of alcohol will be permitted according to the normal licensing provisions, but no alcohol may be sold over 23h00;
· The wearing of masks in public places remains mandatory.
Ramaphosa said the Department of Health will also introduce vaccination certificates showing that a local resident has been vaccinated.
While no date exact rollout date was given, Ramaphosa said the certificate would be used to facilitate travel, access to establishments and gatherings and other forms of activities that require proof of vaccination status.
“It can be used to facilitate travel, access to establishments and gatherings and other forms of activity that require proof of vaccination status. Our approach is informed by World Health Organisation guidelines and is in line with international best practices,” the president said.
“Streamlining and standardising proof of vaccination will also go a long way towards getting a number of international travel restrictions both from and into our country eased.”
Over 8.6 million people are fully vaccinated, which is more than one-fifth of the adult population.
Ramaphosa said that the government is now targeting a 70% adult vaccination rate by the end of the year.
“To reach our goal we need to administer an additional 16 million vaccine doses this year, which amounts to around 250,000 first dose vaccinations every single workday of every week until mid-December,” he said.
“While we have made important progress, and secured sufficient vaccine doses for the target population, our vaccination programme is still too slow.”
The government has therefore decided to upscale its vaccination campaign by launching the ‘Vooma Vaccination Weekends’ campaign from Friday.
These events are specifically aimed at people who cannot get vaccinated during the week, he said.
“The Department of Health has identified priority districts in each province based on the no. of unvaccinated people and the current vaccination coverage in each district. This will be the first ‘Vooma Vaccination Weekend in a series of outreach programmes,” said Ramaphosa.
“The vaccination is free to everyone living in South Africa, whether you are a South African citizen or from another country. You can go to a government or a private health facility that offers vaccinations, even if you don’t have medical aid.”
The UK recently imposed a travel ban on South Africa, including it on a red list of travel destinations, effectively stymying tourism and trade with South Africa’s biggest source market.
Ramaphosa said that he held a call with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday and that a positive outcome is likely to be agreed upon in the coming days.
“I put South Africa’s case to him, which he understood very well,” he told the nation.
“We both agreed that decisions of this nature should be informed by science and are hopeful of a positive outcome when the issue comes up for review in the coming days. Our greatest priority now is to ensure that the economy recovers as quickly as possible so that we can create jobs and help businesses to get back on their feet.”
