PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a number of new restrictions in an effort to curb South Africa’s third wave of COVID-19 infections.
Ramaphosa said the new measures will effectively see the country now move to an adjusted level 2 lockdown on Monday, forcing non-essential establishments such as restaurants, bars and fitness centres to close by 8pm as the curfew will start at 11p and end at 4am.
The announcement by the president comes after the provinces of Free State, Northern Cape, North West and Gauteng reached the threshold of a third wave of infections.
Over the last seven days, the country has seen an average of 3,745 daily new infections, Ramaphosa said during a live television address on Sunday night.
This is an increase of 31 per cent on the previous week, and an increase of 66 per cent on the week before that.
“The proportion of COVID-19 tests that are positive has more than doubled in the last month from around 4 per cent to more than 11 per cent, even as we have increased testing across the country,” said Ramaphosa.
“We are advised that a positivity rate of over 5 per cent is a cause for concern.”
He said the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 has therefore recommended that the country urgently implement further restrictions to limit the increase in infections.
“It bases this recommendation on the sustained increase in new cases in the last 14 days, increased hospital admissions in almost all provinces and an increase in the proportion of COVID tests that are positive,” said Ramaphosa.
“Delaying the spread of the virus is especially important now to allow as many people as possible to be vaccinated before the third wave reaches its peak.”
He added: “These recommendations have been discussed at the National Coronavirus Command Council and, earlier today, with Premiers, mayors and traditional leaders in the President’s Coordinating Council. Based on these discussions, Cabinet has therefore decided that the country will be placed on Adjusted Alert Level 2 with effect from tomorrow (Monday May 31).”
This means that:
- The hours of curfew will start at 11pm and end at 4am
- Non-essential establishments like restaurants, bars and fitness centres will need to close by 10pm. This is to allow their employees and patrons to travel home before the start of the curfew;
- All gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 100 people indoors and 250 people outdoors.
“Gatherings are the greatest sources of transmission, whether its weddings, funerals, social parties, religious services, political meetings or simply gatherings of family and friends,” said Ramaphosa.
“We must remember that the virus does not move from place to place by itself; it relies on the movement of people. The less we travel, the less the virus is spread.
VACCINE|
Ramaphosa said in total, over 960,000 people in South Africa have received one vaccine dose.
He said within the next few days, South Africa will have administered vaccine doses to more than one million of the most vulnerable South Africans.
“It has been heart-warming to see images of our elderly citizens receiving their vaccine, and to read the many stories of kindness and solidarity from those who have visited a vaccination site,” said Ramaphosa.
“The positive experiences of the rollout so far reflect both the dedication and professionalism of our healthcare workers, and the intense preparation that has gone into ensuring that the rollout is successful.”
- Inside Politics
