WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE END OF THE LOCKDOWN?

The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the nation earlier and said that the National Lockdown, which is scheduled to end on the 30th of April cannot be sustained indefinitely. Ramaphosa said “We have to balance the need to resume economic activity with the imperative to contain the virus and save lives.”

Instead of a National Lockdown, from the beginning of May the government will implement a system of coronavirus level alerts. The National Lockdown is equivalent to a Level 5 alert whereby drastic measures are taken to contain the spread of the virus and Level 1 is where most normal activity can resume. Coronavirus Alert Levels will be lowered from 5 to 4 from next week Friday.

During Level 4, Some businesses will be allowed to resume operations. These businesses will be allowed to open in a phased manner, first by preparing return of work, followed by return of employees in batches of no more than one-third. Businesses will be encouraged to adopt a work-from-home strategy whenever possible.

Bars and Shebeens will remain closed. However, the sale of cigarettes will be allowed.

The Ministers of Basic and Higher Education will provide details on the phased re-opening of schools and colleges, universities. It is expected that Grade 7s and Grade 12s will be the first to go back to school.

Range of goods sold will be extended to include certain categories.

Concerts, sporting events, religious and social gatherings will still not be allowed to continue. “

Our borders will remain closed to international travel, except for the repatriation of South African nationals and foreign citizens. No travel will be allowed between provinces, except for the transportation of goods and exceptional circumstances such as funerals. “If people do not travel the virus does not travel” said the President.

Public transport will continue to operate, with limitations on the number of passengers and stringent hygiene requirements, including that all passengers must wear a face mask. Taxis and e-hailing services (UBER, Taxify) will be allowed to operate throughout the day.

From the 1st of May, Ramaphosa has called on all South Africans to wear a face mask when leaving home. He said that the government is committed that health workers have all resources that they need- including face masks and gloves to do their jobs.

In addition, 70,000 soldiers have been employed to assist with various parts of the coronavirus response. They will assist in essential services such as the water supply, infrastructure maintance and health services.