The South African National Defence Force will be deployed to help the South African Police Services enforce a 21-day country-wide lockdown.
This will be from midnight on Thursday 26 March to 16 April.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the roll-out of a massive screening and tracing programme in government’s latest onslaught against the spread of the coronavirus.
In an address to the nation on Monday night, he announced that three South Africans have died after contracting the disease, with the number of confirmed cases now at 1326.
“We are now entering a new phase in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic,” Ramaphosa said, adding that the “next 17 days are not going to be easy.”
The President said that in the coming days the government will be rolling out a screening, testing, tracing and medical management programme on a huge scale.
“Around 10 000 field workers will be visiting homes in villages, towns, and cities to screen residents for Covid19 symptoms.
He said this drive is far-reaching and unprecedented in scale.
