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The government has made a number of changes to South Africa’s level 1 lockdown regulations as the country continues to ease restrictions.
In a series of newsletters published on Wednesday (October 7), rules on grants, sports and events were updated to clarify existing regulations and allow some sectors to reopen.
The changes are described in more detail below.
Subsidies
A new directive from the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, extends some grant payments until the end of 2021. These include:
- Grants for temporary disability that have expired in July 2020 or are due to expire during the months of August to October, will not expire until the end of December 31, 2020 and must continue to be paid until December 31, 2020;
- The care dependency grants, which were extended to October 2020, will not expire in October 2020, but will continue to be paid until December 31, 2020.
The directive also makes specific provisions for unsuccessful applications for the FIU Temporary Employee / Employer Assistance Program (TERS) grant.
TERS applies to employers who are struggling and unable to pay wages due to closure. The payments are part of a government-wide response to ease the burden of the pandemic and ensure that, to the extent possible, workers are not harmed by the shutdown.
However, previous reports indicate that some applications may have failed by mistake or due to a change in criteria.
The board takes this into account by introducing a number of additional requirements when considering reassessment, including checking with banks to determine whether an individual has had no income within a 30-day period.
sports
A new directive from the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, further clarifies the rules around the resumption of sports in South Africa.
The bulletin establishes that sports, artistic and cultural activities, including professional and non-professional matches, by recognized sports bodies, are permitted, subject to the
Following:
- Spectators are not allowed on the grounds or grounds of a sports venue during a match;
- International sporting, artistic and cultural events involving countries with a low or medium rate of transmission and infection by Covid-19 are allowed. This is based on ‘high risk’ countries list published by the government.
The directive also provides instructions on tracking and tracing athletes, as well as general health and safety rules.
Events
The directive also further clarifies the rules on the reopening of events in South Africa, including:
- Cinemas and theaters are allowed, but are limited to 50% of capacity per theater;
- Fitness centers, gyms and swimming pools are limited to 50% of capacity per location;
- Meetings for concerts and live performances are limited to 250 people or less for an indoor meeting and 500 people or less for an outdoor meeting: Provided that no more than 50% of the capacity of the place, with people observing at a distance of at least one and a half meters from each other.
The directive also provides instructions on tracking and following guests, as well as general health and safety rules.
Read: New letter to Dlamini-Zuma calls for changes to South Africa’s travel rules – here’s what it says
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