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South African colleagues, when I last addressed the nation, earlier this month, the country had passed the peak of the second wave of coronavirus infections. Fueled by a new variant of the virus, the second wave was far more devastating and caused more loss of life than the first.
The country has now clearly emerged from the second wave. New infections, hospital admissions, and deaths have dropped significantly and continue to decline steadily.
In the week that just passed, the country registered just under 10,000 new infections. A month ago, in the last week of January, the country registered more than 40,000 new cases. And a month earlier, in the last week of December, the country registered nearly 90,000 new cases.
This dramatic decrease in cases over eight weeks is due to a combination of the public health measures introduced, changes in behavior, and build-up of immunity in those who were infected in our communities. We were able to get out of the second wave because most people adhered to the stricter restrictions and observed basic health protocols, including wearing masks in public and social distancing.
The measures we had to implement in December were necessary to contain infections and prevent our health facilities from being overwhelmed. They were necessary to save lives. We had to take these steps knowing that they placed restrictions on everyone’s daily life in this country. They caused great inconvenience to many. And while we did our best to keep the economy open, we also knew that there were parts of the economy that would be affected and could not fully function.
Our approach has always been that such restrictions should not remain in effect longer than is absolutely necessary to contain the disease.
Due to declining infections, the country is now able to ease some of its movement and activity restrictions. Once again, we do so with caution. Even after a sustained period of relatively low transmission, we have seen how the number of new infections can increase rapidly and without warning.
Based on an assessment of the current state of the pandemic in the country, the cabinet today decided to move the country from coronavirus alert level 3 to alert level 1. The new alert level will take effect later tonight, once regulations have been approved. published.
This will mean that:
- The curfew time will now be from 12 p.m. to 4 a.m.
- Meetings will be allowed, subject to size limitations, adherence to social distancing, and other health protocols. These include religious, social, political and cultural gatherings. The maximum number of people allowed in any meeting is 100 people indoors or 250 people outdoors. When the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with adequate social distancing, no more than 50% of the venue’s capacity can be used. Evening vigils or other gatherings before or after funerals are not yet allowed.
- The discos will remain closed.
- The sale of alcohol will be allowed, in accordance with the normal provisions of the license. However, alcohol cannot be sold during curfew hours.
- Wearing masks in public places is still mandatory and not wearing a mask when necessary is still a crime.
- The 33 land border posts that have been closed during 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.
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