GCIS
The whole of South Africa will move to coronavirus (Covid-19) level 3 lockdown on 1 June, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation on Sunday night.
He said this would entail the re-opening of most of the economy and would see some eight million people return to work, including most civil servants.
The nationwide night-time curfew would be lifted, but South Africa's national borders would remain closed, apart from the transport of goods and the repatriations of citizens.
President Ramaphosa also said that the sale of alcohol will be allowed under certain conditions but he said that the sale of tobacco products will, however, remain prohibited for now, because of the health risks associated with smoking.
The President also announced further measures to open the country’s economy as the number of Covid19 infections rose to 22 583 cases with 429 deaths.
Half of the number of infected cases have recovered, the President said.
Ramaphosa also cautioned that as the country prepares to move to Alert Level 3, there were several hotspot areas that remain a concern.
These include Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City Metro, and the Chris Hani District in the Eastern Cape.
Other identified hotspots were the Metros of Tshwane, Johannesburg, eThekwini, Ekhuruleni, and Cape Town Metro, which has the highest number of infections in the country.
The President said that these areas could return to Alert Level 4 should the situation not improve through targeted, intensified intervention measures.
“Our differentiated approach to curbing the spread of Covid19 will allow us to address clusters of infections in specific municipalities or districts, ensuring economic activity can resume as safely as possible while protecting public health.”
With schools preparing to reopen from tomorrow, President Ramaphosa said the government recognized a measure of anxiety among parents regarding the announced, staged re-opening of schools from 1 June.
He said there would be no consequence if parents decided to keep their children at home.
“No parent will be forced to send their child to school if they are worried about safety at the schools.”
School principals are their management teams are expected to return to school on Monday and, in the case of the Eastern Cape, teachers will return from Wednesday when all Personal Protective Equipment is delivered to schools.
President Ramaphosa said that it had been known all along that the lockdown would only delay the spread of the virus, but that it would not be able to stop it.
“Until there is a vaccine available to all, the coronavirus will continue to spread in our population. This means that we must get used to living with the coronavirus for some time to come,” he said.
Additional reporting - African News Agency (ANA)
