Level 1 – don’t spoil it, SA

RELAXED LOCKDOWN, BUT DON’T ABANDON CAUTION

Avisibly relaxed and relieved President Cyril Ramaphosa last night took the country to the lowest level of lockdown since the Covid-19 pandemic engulfed SA just under a year ago … but he warned people should not abandon caution because a third wave is a real threat.

The alert level has been moved down to level 1 from the current adjusted level 3.

This means that:

Curfew will be from midnight to 4am.

Gatherings will be permitted, subject to limitations on size, adherence to social distancing and other health protocols. These include religious, social, political and cultural gatherings. The maximum number of people allowed at any gathering is 100 people indoors or 250 people outdoors. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used.

Night vigils or other gatherings before or after funerals are still not permitted.

Nightclubs will remain closed.

The sale of alcohol will be permitted, according to normal licence provisions. However, no alcohol may be sold during the hours of curfew.

The wearing of masks in public places is still mandatory, and failure to wear a mask remains a criminal offence.

The 33 land border posts that have been closed throughout this period will remain closed, while the other 20 will remain open. Only five airports will be open for international travel: OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka, Kruger Mpumalanga and Lanseria.

Ramaphosa also said the vaccination programme was the most important part of the government’s fight against Covid-19. More than 67 000 health workers had been vaccinated in the past 10 days and the doses administered daily would be increased.

After health care workers had been vaccinated, Phase 2 – which includes include the elderly, essential workers, persons living or working in institutional settings and those with co-morbidities – would begin in late April or early May.

Ramaphosa said an agreement had been signed with Johnson & Johnson to secure 11 million doses, 2.8 million of which will be delivered in the second quarter. A further 20 million doses had been secured from Pfizer, which will be delivered from the second quarter. Additionally, 12 million vaccine doses would be obtained from the Covax facility and there would be others from the allocations from the African Union.

Ramaphosa warned people to stick to social distancing and mask wearing, because the new variant of the virus is transmitted more easily.