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- Twenty land ports of entry will be closed for general traffic, with a few exceptions, to reduce people’s exposure to Covid-19 in congested areas.
- Alcohol sales will remain banned and the curfew will remain in place, but it will end an hour earlier, for now.
- Around 20 million vaccines are expected to arrive in South Africa in the first half of the year.
The Covid-19 lockdown restrictions will remain virtually unchanged for the next month, but land borders will be closed as long lines and congestion have increased the risk of infection.
“To reduce congestion and the high risk of transmission, Cabinet has decided that the 20 land ports of entry that are currently open will be closed until February 15 for general entry and exit,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his update. televised on the Covid-19 restrictions on Monday night.
It added that waiting at border posts for people waiting to be processed or examined had exposed many to infections.
READ | 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines arrive, says Ramaphosa
Ramaphosa said the country would remain at the adjusted alert level 3 that was announced on December 28, which means that alcohol sales would remain banned for now, despite lobbying from the industry for some concessions.
He added footage from the trauma unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, which was empty for the first time on New Year’s Day, and showed that alcohol resulted in behavior that caused trauma.
“It is vital that we continue to protect our health services at this crucial time.”
Over the past week, the government has held consultations with religious leaders, community organizations, businesses, workers, and representatives of the provincial and local government, as well as traditional leaders about the impact of these measures.
The measures that will remain in force include a ban on social, religious, political and sports gatherings, while funerals will remain limited to 50 people.
READ | Closure: alcohol ban remains
Gyms, restaurants and museums are among the establishments that may still remain open.
The curfew will remain at 21:00, but will now end an hour earlier at 05:00, while the use of masks in a public space will remain mandatory.
Beaches, dams, lakes, rivers, public parks and public pools will remain closed, while botanical gardens, national parks and other parks, where access control measures and entry limitations already exist, will remain open.
Gazetted
The amendments to the regulations will go into effect once they have been published, which is expected to happen this week.
Ramaphosa said the number of infections, hospital admissions and deaths was at an all-time high now, and the rapid spread of infections was due to the new variant of Covid-19 that was discovered in South Africa in November.
Since the start of the pandemic, South Africa has recorded more than 1.2 million cases, more than 33,000 deaths and more than 148,000 people have been hospitalized.
Of the 15,000 people currently in the hospital, a third are in need of oxygen, which Ramaphosa says is “putting considerable pressure on health facilities, staff and equipment.”
The province with the highest average number of cases in the last seven days was KwaZulu-Natal, followed by Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
The president added that South Africa was in the process of securing vaccines through the World Health Organization’s Covax facility, the African Union vaccine initiative, and direct engagement with vaccine manufacturers.
To date, Ramaphosa said, the country had secured 20 million doses of vaccines to be delivered “mainly in the first half of the year,” and its goal was to vaccinate at least 40 million people, or 67% of the population. , according to scientists. it is currently believed to cause “herd immunity” or “population immunity”.
