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President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation at 8:00 p.m. tonight on South Africa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The speech follows a special Cabinet session that considered the recommendations of the National Coronavirus Command Council.
The president is expected to address the nation on national government interventions to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in critical areas in some parts of South Africa.
It is likely to announce a number of new measures in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, which have seen an increase in cases in recent weeks.
# COVID-19 | President @CyrilRamaphosa will address the nation today at 8:00 p.m. on South Africa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The speech follows a special Cabinet session that considered the recommendations of the meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council. #Stay safe pic.twitter.com/SUnoJabIF1
– Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) December 3, 2020
In South Africa, 4,173 new cases had been registered as of December 2, bringing the total reported to 796,472. Deaths have reached 21,709 (a daily increase of 65), while recoveries have risen to 734,305, leaving the country with a balance of 40,458 active cases.
The Western Cape has the highest number of active cases in the county, with 12,031 people currently infected with the virus. 4,701 people have died as a result of the virus. Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape is close behind, with 10,144 active cases and 4,678 deaths.
Nelson Mandela Bay Acting Mayor Thsonono Buyeye said the metro is “anxiously awaiting” an announcement from the presidency on new restrictions.
“If that means that people should not move to save lives, I am sure that is the path we will take. Most of it will come when the president speaks to us, ”he said.
The acting mayor said officials met with the president on Wednesday.
Sources that were part of the government’s National Coronavirus Command Council meeting this week indicate that the country’s coronavirus hot spots could face the following additional restrictions:
- The introduction of a curfew at 10pm, with restaurants closed at 9pm;
- Prohibition of alcohol consumption in public areas;
- Assembly restriction: funerals and religious services will be limited to 100 people indoors and 250 people outdoors;
- The formwork of open public spaces, which may include beaches.
Nelson Mandela Bay said alcohol is a particular problem and he wants taverns to only allow takeout.
“Taverns and shebeens should only sell takeout food, that’s what they have presented and we have presented it and we are waiting for a response. If it’s unregulated, it becomes difficult to enforce because you could open and trade and there won’t be any regulation that says they can’t do that.
“We submitted to the province to make sure it must find expression in the regulations so that law enforcement agencies know what to do,” Buyeye said.
The possible reintroduction of the restrictions has already faced fierce opposition from business and opposition parties as the country prepares to enter the peak holiday season in December.
The district attorney said the recommendations will devastate the economy, as well as thousands of restaurants across the country that have only begun to recover after the initial closure.
“These are also not sustainable solutions going forward, as companies cannot take a ‘stop / start’ approach into account whenever there is a wave of Covid-19,” said Dean Macpherson, who heads Trade an Industry at the GIVES.
South African Restaurant Association (RASA) executive director Wendy Alberts said the country’s restaurants would be severely affected by a shutdown as the country enters the holiday season.
He said the government has not consulted with the industry on its plans to reintroduce more restrictions.
“We are certainly going to challenge any restrictions that have been placed on the restaurant industry.
“We want all restaurants to inform us if any authority has contacted them in the last month to inform them that there is Covid-19 in their establishment.”
Read: New restrictions on alcohol in South Africa will devastate parts of the economy
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