President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday 28 February 2021, on developments in the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The address followed meetings in recent days of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) and Cabinet.
Ramaphosa announced that based on an assessment of the current state of the pandemic in the country, Cabinet decided to move the country from Coronavirus Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 1
At the time of publishing South Africa had more than 1,5 million positive COVID-19 cases and 49,941 deaths.
The new alert level will come into effect later this evening and will mean that:
?The hours of the Curfew will now be from 12 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.
? 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, then no more than 50 per cent 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 when required 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 with standard infection control measures. These are OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka, Kruger Mpumalanga and Lanseria airports.
