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President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa will return to lockdown level 1.
In a national address on Sunday night (February 28), the president said that the easing of restrictions comes almost a year after the first case of Covid-19 was first reported in the country.
He added that the country has clearly outgrown its second wave of Covid-19 cases, with most people sticking to stricter restrictions and observing basic health protocols.
Ramaphosa described the following constraint changes:
- The afternoon curfew will remain in force, but will now run from 00:00 to 04:00;
- The sale of alcohol is permitted under normal license conditions, but cannot be sold during curfew hours;
- Meetings will be allowed subject to size limitations and health protocols; This includes religious, social, political, and cultural gatherings;
- The maximum number of people in any meeting is 100 indoors and 250 outdoors, subject to floor space.
- Nightly vigils before and after funerals are not yet allowed;
- The nightclubs remain closed;
- The use of masks in public places is still mandatory; not doing so is a crime;
- Some land border posts remain closed and five international airports will be open.
The new alert level will take effect later Sunday evening, once the regulations have been posted.
The five airports open for international travel are:
- OR Tambo International Airport
- Cape Town International Airport
- Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport
- King Shaka International Airport
- Lanseria airport
The 33 land border posts that have been closed during this period will remain closed, while the other 20 will remain open.
“As we ease restrictions, we cannot let our guard down. The few remaining restrictions target infections and prevent super-spreader events, ”Ramaphosa said.
The threat of a third wave is constantly present, as is the threat of new variants, he said.
Vaccines
In the 10 days since the launch of its vaccine program, Ramaphosa said nearly 67,000 healthcare workers have been vaccinated to date, with another 80,000 Johnson and Johnson vaccines arriving in the country this week.
He added that the number of Covid-19 vaccination sites will be expanded from 17 to 49 sites in the next week. Once all healthcare workers have been vaccinated, phase 2 of the vaccine launch will begin, he said.
The president said phase 2 will focus on the elderly, public service workers and those with comorbidities. This phase is scheduled to start in late April and early May.
Ramaphosa said the government has also entered into agreements with manufacturers such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to ensure it will have enough vaccines.
This week, the National Treasury said it has allocated R9 billion to fund the country’s Covid-19 vaccine implementation strategy.
Introducing the Budget Review on Wednesday, the Treasury said that ensuring access to Covid-19 vaccines is the government’s immediate priority. “In the medium term, 9 billion rand is allocated for the launch of vaccines,” he said.
“Of this amount, the Department of Health is allocated 6.5 billion rand to purchase and distribute vaccines.
“An amount of 100 million rand will be transferred to the South African Medical Research Council for vaccine research. The provincial health departments have assigned R2.4 billion to administer vaccines. “
As announced by Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize in January 2021, South Africa’s three-phase vaccine deployment strategy aims to vaccinate 67% of the population over a 12-month period.
“Access to vaccines will be provided free of charge, according to need and the implementation schedule. Funding for the acquisition and launch of vaccines is obtained from the national budget.
“Since the state is purchasing vaccines on behalf of the public and private sectors, some revenue will go back to the fiscus when private providers purchase vaccines from the state.”
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