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President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Wednesday night, September 16, where he is expected to announce a level 1 national lockdown, including the opening of international travel.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation today at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 16, 2020, on developments in South Africa’s risk-adjusted response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the presidency said in a note.
“The speech follows a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council on Monday, September 14, 2020; a meeting of the President’s Coordinating Council on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, and a special session of the Cabinet today, Wednesday, September 16, 2020 ”.
According to various reports in the past week, Lock Level 1 will see further easing of restrictions, although some measures will remain in place.
Expected changes include:
- The curfew at night;
- Adjusting the limits of meetings, such as church services, increasing instead to a percentage of capacity (that is, 50% of the capacity of a place instead of 50 people);
- Opening international borders, but only regionally to the rest of Africa;
- International travel to Europe and other destinations with a resurgence of Covid-19 infections are still considered high risk and re-importation of the virus is a concern;
- The protocols of social distancing, use of masks and hygiene will be maintained.
Citing the “leading experts” who attended the Presidential Coordinating Council meetings, TimesLive reported that travel from high-risk countries, including the US, the UK and major EU countries, will remain prohibited.
“However, in a controversial manner, arrivals from India and Brazil, which have the second and third highest infection rates in the world, will be allowed,” he said.
Arriving people will be required to provide a negative test result taken 72 hours before the trip, allowing them access without quarantine, according to the newspaper.
South Africa’s tourism sector is desperate to see international borders reopened.
Professor Alex van den Heever, chair of the field of Social Security Systems Management and Administration Studies at the Wits School of Governance, said a gradual reopening is not logical.
“All borders must be reopened as there are no additional risks posed by an industry that is well organized, has strict hygiene and health security protocols and operates in low-density environments.”
“In general, events of great diffusion in Tourism are not obtained as long as health protocols are maintained and, to the extent that there are failures, they are addressed. An entire industry is not closed due to some flaws. As an economic sector, if the evidence does not indicate that you are an important vector for the spread of the disease, you must be open. “
On Tuesday, South Africa reported the fewest cases of new infections since May: 772 cases, bringing the total reported to 651,521.
Deaths have reached 15,641 (an increase of 142), while recoveries have risen to 583,126, leaving the country with a balance of 52,754 active cases.
Read: What to expect from the new Ramaphosa recovery plan for South Africa
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