By Jarryd Neves
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa will be moving into lockdown level 1, from midnight on Sunday, 2oth of September. Under level 1, restrictions will become more relaxed and allow for further activity. In his speech, the President announced that numerous restrictions on various social gatherings will be loosened.
The easing of restrictions on alcohol sales under Level 1 must be done cautiously and responsibly to prevent harm to public health. pic.twitter.com/y2P1iDr863
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) September 16, 2020
This now means that up to 100 individuals are permitted to attend funerals, where previously only 50 people were allowed. The curfew has been shortened too. Now, the curfew commences at 12am and ends four hours later, at 4am.
Read also: Lockdown lifts; CR urges you to download Covid tracing app to keep it that way – full details
With regards to social, religious and other gatherings, the amount of people within a venue is not allowed to exceed “50% of its normal capacity.” However, a maximum limit of 250 individuals will apply to indoor gatherings and 500 for outdoor gatherings.
President Ramaphosa stressed that mask wearing and social distancing rules be adhered to and urged citizens to practice good hygiene habits, such as the regular washing of hands. “Existing restrictions on sporting events remain in place” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa also urged all South Africans smartphone users to download the Covid Alert SA app, saying “the app will alert any user, if they have been in close contact with any other user who has tested positive for coronavirus in the past 14 days.”
Read also: Long, hard lockdown fails to save lives
The President also announced that South Africa’s borders are to be opened, albeit gradually. “With the move to alert level 1, we will gradually and cautiously ease restrictions on international travel. We will be allowing travel into and out of South Africa for business, leisure and other travel, with effect from October 1st, 2020.”
President #Ramaphosa:
We are ready to open our doors again to the world, and invite travellers to enjoy our mountains, our beaches, our vibrant cities and our wildlife game parks in safety and confidence.— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) September 16, 2020
Travellers coming into the country will have to “present negative Covid-19 test results, not older than 72 hours from the time of their departure.”
The easing of restrictions on international travel under Level 1 must be done with extreme caution, especially as some countries experience a new surge in infections. pic.twitter.com/52mFTDNteN
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) September 16, 2020
The latest Covid-19 figures in South Africa show that over 3,961,000 tests have been conducted. Just under 653,500 positive cases have been identified, while 584,195 individuals have recovered from the virus. Just over 15,700 deaths have been recorded.
