[ad_1]
A poster is displayed in Hackney on April 11, 2020 in London, England. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to many countries around the world, claiming more than 100,000 lives and infecting more than 1.7 million people. (Photo by Julian Finney / Getty Images)
When a second wave of Covid-19 hits the country and we plunge into a tougher lockdown, we answer your frequently asked questions about what it can and cannot do.
The second wave of Covid-19 crashed as a tsunami in South Africa just as the country was exhaling on the holiday’s annual holiday season. As one million people were tested and diagnosed this week, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers reported that the system was at risk of being overwhelmed.
On key metrics, the second wave is higher than the first, and test rates rise to one in three positives from swabs taken. The government acted last night (December 28) when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an Advanced Level 3 lockdown as the wave spread and deaths increased.
These are her frequently asked questions after a cabinet briefing led by Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
I can travel? Can I go home after the holidays?
You can travel internationally except to countries that have banned South Africans after identifying the new Covid-19 variant (501Y.V2). You must have valid proof (no more than 72 hours) showing that you do not have Covid-19 and comply with other restrictions in the country you are visiting. There are no restrictions on interprovincial travel, but you cannot travel during the curfew between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Curfews are used to facilitate law enforcement, and you will need a permit as an essential services worker to travel between these times.
Can I meet with family and friends?
This is very confusing. Dlamini-Zuma says no: When asked on December 29, he said that all social gatherings, including family gatherings, are prohibited. According to regulations, cinemas, theaters, casinos, museums, galleries, archives, gyms and fitness centers, restaurants, auctions, and professional sports venues can hold meetings. These rules do not say that you should attend only members of your immediate household. For venues that continue to operate, there is a limit of 50 guests inside and 100 outside, apparently regardless of the size of the venue. Gyms, for example, appear to have negotiated a Tier 1 deal where membership is based on the size of the facility, but now the general limit for indoor venues is 50 people. If it is a small casino, museum, gallery, or other venue, the size will determine how many people enter, as it is likely to be less than 50. It is best to call ahead and check.
What i can’t do
Much.
The annex to the regulations specifically excludes night vigils, post-funeral gatherings, social gatherings, nightclubs, bars, taverns, shebeens and similar establishments, along with beaches, dams, rivers and lakes at points critics. Here is the Full list
Public parks, including public and recreational facilities, and public swimming pools are included here. You or a member of your family cannot be initiated or attend a post-initiation practice (such as celebrations) or attend a sporting event, although there are some exceptions.
I can take?
Of course, anything without alcohol and only if you’ve stocked up on alcohol or know how to handle a fermented pineapple. Alcohol sales and on-site consumer sales are prohibited. The data shows hospitals and clinics in Hot spots are crammed with alcohol-related trauma cases when all beds and oxygen masks or ventilators are needed for Covid-19 patients.
This covers wineries, micro-manufacturers, wine estates and the like.
You may not transport alcohol unless it is pure alcohol to produce sanitizers, sanitizers, or soaps, for export purposes or from manufacturing plants to storage facilities, or from facilities authorized for safekeeping. Police Minister Bheki Cele warned restaurants and cafes that he was dop be served in teapots, and he advised owners to stick to rooibos tea or risk losing their licenses.
Indeed, the sale of alcohol is once again prohibited, although there is a loophole in the regulations as to whether this also applies to licensed resorts, hotels or B & Bs.
What does mandatory masking mean to me?
Just wear the mask! If you want to know why the new law says:
“The use of a mask is mandatory for everyone when in a public place, and anyone who does not comply with a verbal instruction from a law enforcement officer to wear a mask commits a crime and, if convicted, it is subject to a fine or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both a fine and imprisonment. “
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said the magistrates are meeting to set the amount of the fine.
“If not [wear a mask] you will definitely be arrested, ”Cele said. And he means it: South Africa arrested more people than most other nations during the first hard blockade. “Most of you will have a criminal record. If you don’t respect this, there will be consequences, ”said the minister, who always sounds like he was born for a police state rather than a democracy. Someone, please tell the minister that it is a health emergency, not a state of emergency.
This is the only time you are allowed not to wear a mask when you are away from home:
“… A person who performs vigorous exercise in a public place, as long as he maintains a distance of at least one and a half meters from any other person, and subject to the instructions on what is considered vigorous, issued by the Cabinet member responsible for health, “says the regulation.
Fortunately, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize did not go into the realm of “micro-managing roast chicken and spread fingers” and said he would leave the definition of “vigorous exercise” to you, although he added that walking is probably not ” vigorous. ” exercise. “You have to exercise physically strenuous enough to take a bit of breath to remove the mask when you are away from home. Otherwise, apply the mask.
For the next two weeks, starting on December 29, you also cannot go to a church, mosque, synagogue or temple or other religious gatherings, according to Dlamini Zuma.
Can I be evicted if I don’t pay the rent or have my house demolished?
No. But if your landlord is angry, you can go to Rental Housing Court. Fire ants cannot destroy your hut in the next two weeks.
What about people using public transportation who have to return from vacation or go back to work?
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula will have to issue directives to ensure this is done safely, with taxis and long-distance buses restricted to no more than 70% of capacity. Trips of less than 200km can be 100% filled as long as everyone on board is masked.
(Good luck with that – my research tally reveals that so far no masked taxi drivers have been seen in 2020).
The airlines were packed to the brim during the early Christmas season (or you had to pay a king’s ransom to keep a free seat next to you), so Mbalula could issue directives on this as well, although the regulations are silent on planes and trains.
Two hellish weeks will pass: a fitting end to the unprecedented challenges of 2020 and a bumpy landing in 2021. As of December 29, Mkhize reported there were 11,256 people in the hospital with Covid-19, with 3,543 on oxygen and 604 on ventilators. . He said that most of the districts in South Africa are in the Covid response phase, which is defined as a 20% increase in cases compared to the previous seven days.
Advanced Level 3 is applied for the next two weeks, after which the Coronavirus National Command Council will review the status of Covid-19. It is now considered an exponential and explosive outbreak. DM
