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President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the extension of South Africa’s adjusted level 3 lockdown, with some changes to the current restrictions.
At a press conference on Monday night (January 11), the president said that the pandemic in South Africa is now at its most ‘devastating’, with the number of new cases, deaths and hospital admissions now at the lowest point. high since the coronavirus occurred. first detected in the country in March 2020.
To date, more than 1.2 million cases have been reported in the country, with more than 33,000 deaths.
Since the start of the new year, 190,000 new cases have been reported, along with 4,600 deaths. More than 15,000 South Africans are currently hospitalized, and about a third of these patients receive oxygen.
As a proportion of the population, the province with the highest average number of cases in the last seven days is KwaZulu-Natal, followed by the Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Ramaphosa said infections in Gauteng are growing exponentially, and that this number will rise as more tourists return home from coastal areas. This surge in increases is due to a new variant of Covid-19 in the country, meaning that many more people have been infected in a much shorter space of time.
Citing preliminary research, he said this variant is no more dangerous, but it puts great pressure on hospitals as cases rise exponentially.
“Emerging information suggests that this new variant does not cause more serious disease than the original variants. But it puts more pressure on the healthcare system because cases are increasing so quickly and hospitals fill up more quickly.
“Therefore, there is an intensive focus on our health facilities to increase the oxygen supply and activate the beds of the field hospitals. Additional vacant positions are being filled and PPE stocks are being monitored in conjunction with the Office of Health Compliance, ”he said.
Restrictions
With the country facing its second wave of coronavirus, Ramaphosa announced that the adjusted level 3 lockdown, first announced on December 28, will be extended further.
It means that the current ban on the sale of alcohol remains in effect.
“Health services in various parts of the country reported that the ban on the sale of alcohol had significantly reduced the number of trauma cases seen in our hospitals during the New Year period. It is vital that we continue to protect our health services, ”he said.
In addition, the dams of the country’s beaches, rivers and public swimming pools in the areas of interest will be closed to the public. However, the president also announced a number of new restriction changes, including:
Curfew – The country’s curfew has been reduced by one hour in the morning and will now extend from 21:00 to 05:00;
land borders – The country will close its land borders until February 15 to reduce overcrowding. These include the six busiest border posts, which are Beitbridge, Lebombo, Maseru Bridge, Oshoek, Ficksburg, and Kopfontein.
There are a number of exceptions to this rule, including fuel and freight transportation, medical care, the return of South African citizens, and the departure of foreign nationals.
Meetings – Given the risk of widespread transmission, most indoor and outdoor meetings will not be allowed. This includes social gatherings, religious gatherings, political events, traditional council meetings, and gatherings on sports fields.
As before, this does not include funerals and other limited exceptions as detailed in regulations, such as restaurants, museums, and gyms. Funerals cannot be attended by more than 50 people, and there needs to be social distancing, hand disinfection and the use of masks.
Schools – Ramaphosa said that the National Coronavirus Command Council will provide further guidance on the return of schools later this month.
Read: South Africa’s economic reactivation will largely depend on these actions
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