President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced on Sunday some changes regarding the coronavirus in South Africa. For instance, people aged between 18 and 34 will be eligible to be vaccinated from September. He also talked about the violence: “ We have marshalled all our resources to restore stability and order to KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, to ensure that we stabilise the situation and ensure that the violence of two weeks ago is ended.”
The president said: “ we have to accelerate our vaccination program so that the vast majority of adult South Africans can be vaccinated before the end of the year. And we need to ensure that peace and stability is maintained throughout the country and that there are no further incidents of violence.
He also talked about the need to help businesses to rebuild. “These are businesses affected by looting and destruction of property and those affected by the pandemic and the necessary measures we have taken to contain it.
Finally, we need to accelerate the implementation of our Economic’ said Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to rebuild our economy, create employment and drive inclusive growth said President Cyril Ramaphosa
The latest figures suggest that we have largely passed the peak of the third wave of infections, although there are areas in the country where we still need to be concerned because the rates of infection have not yet shown signs of decline.
For the president: “The measures that we put in place for the past 28 days, alongside the continued adherence of South Africans to basic health precautions, have been effective in reducing the rate of infection. The average number of daily new infections over the last week was around 12,000 new cases a day, which represents a 20 per cent drop from the previous week. We must continue always wearing our masks when in public, keep our distance from others and always ensure that windows are open and that there is a flow of fresh air.
The overall decline in new infections means that it is possible to gradually ease some of the restrictions on gatherings, movement, and the sale of alcohol.”
In brief this is what it means
- The hours of curfew will stay the same, starting at 10pm and end at 4am.
- Interprovincial travel for leisure may resume.
- Non-essential establishments like restaurants, taverns, bars, and fitness centers may be opened. These establishments will however need to close by 9pm to allow their employees and patrons to travel home before the start of the curfew.
- Gatherings will be allowed but will be limited to a maximum of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue may be used. Gatherings include religious services, political events, and social gatherings.
- The limits on venue capacity also apply to restaurants, gyms, fitness centres, bars, taverns, and similar places.
- Attendance at funerals and cremations may not exceed 50 people and all social distancing and health protocols must be observed. Night vigils and after-funeral gatherings are still not allowed.
- The sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption will be permitted between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday. Alcohol sales for on-site consumption will be permitted as per licence conditions up to 8pm.
- Schools will re-open tomorrow, Monday the 26th of July, according to strict health protocols and other measures announced by the Minister of Basic Education.
