21 DAY NATIONAL LOCKDOWN

The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa today 23 March 2020 announced a National Lockdown. The lockdown will be 21 days from midnight Thursday, 26 March 2020 until midnight 16 April 2020. The President declared the lockdown in terms of the Disaster Management Act.

The reason for the lockdown is the Covoid 19 pandemic. A week ago on the 15th of March, Ramaphosa declared the Coronavirus a National Disaster. South Africa recorded 61 cases of the virus on the day. Covoid-19 confirmed cases have increased six fold in just 8 days to 402. The lockdown will disrupt the chain of transmission and prevent the spread of the virus.

Along with washing hands, covering your nose when coughing and avoiding close contact with sickly people. The best defense for the virus is staying at home. With the measures the President has announced, South Africans are obliged to stay at home except for essential purposes.

Individuals will not be allowed to leave their homes except under strictly controlled circumstances, such as to seek medical care, buy food, medicine and other supplies or collect a social grant. Only grocery stores, banks, pharmacies and other essential service will remain open. All non essential services are suspended. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will assist the South African Police Service (SAPS) to enforce the National Shutdown.

The nationwide lockdown will be accompanied by a public health management programme which will significantly increase screening, testing, contact tracing and medical management. Community health teams will focus on expanding screening and testing where people live, focusing first on high density and high-risk areas.

Some of the personnel that will be exempted from the National Lockdown include health workers, emergency personnel, security services (such as the police, traffic officers, military medical personnel, soldiers), those involved in the production, distribution and supply of food and basic goods, essential banking services, the maintenance of power, water, and telecommunications services, laboratory services, and the provision of medical and hygiene products.

President Ramaphosa said “While this measure will have a considerable impact on people’s livelihoods, on the life of our society and on our economy, the human cost of delaying this action would be far, far greater.”