South Africa moving to lockdown level 1 from today

A CONTINUED decline in the number of Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths, has prompted the government to once again ease restrictions on movement, gatherings and the curfew.

President Cyril Ramaphosha addressed South Africans in a televised address last night to give an update on the latest developments in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This followed the government meeting, in recent days, with the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Co-ordinating Council, and Cabinet meetings.

The country now moves to alert level 1 today, and the curfew is from 12pm to 4am; religious, social, political and cultural gatherings will now be permitted but are subject to limitations in size and adherence to Covid-19 protocols.

“The maximum number of people allowed at any gathering is 100 people indoors or 250 people outdoors,” said Ramaphosa.

Night vigils or other gatherings before or after funerals would not be permitted, and nightclubs would remain closed.

The sale of alcohol would now be permitted according to normal licence provisions. However, no alcohol should be sold during the curfew, said Ramaphosa.

The country was preparing to launch phase 2 of its Covid-19 vaccination programme in late April or early May, where the elderly and those with comorbidities would be prioritised.

Since the country began vaccination 10 days ago, over 67 000 healthcare workers on the front lines had been vaccinated, said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa said an agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to secure 11 million doses had been signed.

“Of these doses, 2.8 million doses will be delivered in the second quarter and the rest spread throughout the year,” he said.

“We have also secured 20 million doses from Pfizer, which will be delivered from the second quarter.

“Additionally, we have secured 12 million vaccine doses from the Covax facility and are in the process of finalising our dose allocation from the AU.”

The country had received its second consignment of 80 000 doses of the J&J single-dose vaccine on Saturday.

According to the Western Cape Government’s Covid-19 dashboard, the province had recorded 3 801 active cases of Covid-19, 275 366 confirmed cases and 260 404 recoveries as of 1pm yesterday.

To date, 11 161 people have succumbed to the virus. Around 133 403 Covid-19 tests have been conducted.