Ramaphosa eases lockdown but warns crisis will ‘get worse’

AS THE number of coronavirus cases in South Africa continues to rise, the president has announced an easing of strict lockdown measures, allowing the vast majority of the economy to return to full capacity.

However, Cyril Ramaphosa warned his citizens that more than one third of the country’s 22,000 coronavirus cases were recorded last week.

“We should expect that these numbers will rise even further and even faster,” he said. “The coronavirus pandemic in South Africa is going to get much worse before it gets better.”

Africa’s most industrialised economy has largely been shut down since March 26. Only grocery stores, pharmacies and essential service suppliers have been allowed to operate. The sale of alcohol and cigarettes has been strictly banned, for health reasons.

South Africans have only been allowed to leave their homes for essential purposes with security services enforcing the regulations brutally.

The past few weeks of lockdown have been catastrophic for the country’s poorest, many of whom live hand to mouth in crowded slums. Lines of hungry South Africans stretch for miles outside food banks.

The government has launched a $25.3 billion (£20.7 billion) package – the equivalent of 10 per cent of the country’s GDP – to bail out the economy. The chamber of commerce has also issued stark warnings that unemployment could hit 50 per cent as businesses buckle under pressure.

So far there have been 429 recorded deaths from Covid-19 in the country of 57 million.