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Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will likely extend the national state of disaster for another month this week as the government relies on regulations to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The government declared a national state of disaster under Section 27 (1) and Section 27 (2) of the Disaster Management Act on March 15, 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the state of disaster originally expired on June 15, the law states that the Cogta minister can extend the state of disaster, by notice in the bulletin, for one month at a time before it expires.
The current extension will end on Thursday, October 15. However, with the country still sitting with more than 50,000 active Covid-19 cases and more than 1,000 new infections every day, it is highly likely that Dlamini-Zuma will spread the state of disaster again.
Push back
The widespread state of national disaster has faced increased scrutiny from business groups and political parties who want the prolonged coronavirus lockdown to end.
On Monday (October 12), the Democratic Alliance called on the government to resist the urge to once again extend the state of disaster and, by extension, end the blockade.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said the state of disaster undermines democracy, oversight and policy certainty, and bolsters what the party called “bad science,” promoting a climate of fear in the country.
“Extending (the state of disaster) will be nothing more than a continuation of the government’s attempt to use bad science to promote a climate of fear that gives false legitimacy to the growing authoritarianism of the ANC,” he said.
Steenhuisen said that under South Africa’s level 1 lockdown rules, damages are still being caused to certain sectors of the economy, notably tourism and the alcohol industry. The blockade also continues to disrupt education, with no benefit to society, he said.
The district attorney called for an end to the state of disaster and lockdown, highlighting the following areas that were still being adversely affected:
- International travel restrictions – South Africa resumed international travel on October 1. Under level 1 regulations, all travelers from the African continent and from countries outside the African continent with a low rate of infection and transmission of Covid-19 will be able to enter the country. The government has published a extensive list from “high risk” countries prevented from traveling to the country for leisure.
- Restrictions on trade in alcohol – Currently, the sale of liquor is allowed by authorized premises for off-site consumption is allowed from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday through Friday, except weekends and holidays. The liquor can also be sold for consumption on the spot, subject to strict enforcement of the curfew.
- Curfew – Under country lock level 1, everyone is confined to their place of residence from 00:01 to 04:00 every day, except when a person has received a permit to work or is attending a medical or security emergency.
- Schools – South African schools currently use a number of social distancing measures including ‘platooning’ in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Second wave
While the government has continued to ease lockdown restrictions, it may hesitate to allow the state of disaster to expire as the country still faces a possible second wave of coronavirus infections.
In an interview with eNCA on Sunday (October 11), Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said that the country could face a second wave if citizens become complacent about wearing masks and do not follow other established safety guidelines.
Mkhize said the number of infections has been around 10,000 a week for about five weeks and there has been an increase in cases in the last two weeks.
“We have to be very realistic here and not deal with it emotionally or try to create a controversy about it,” he said. However, he said there have been no signs of a second wave in the country yet.
“It is a simple matter: we cannot say if we will get a second wave or not, but the risk is there. At this time, we have not seen a rise that indicates that there is a second wave but we cannot say that people should be complacent, “said the minister.
South Africa has registered 1,575 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative number of detected cases to 692,471 as of Sunday.
“Sadly, we reported 107 more Covid-19 related deaths: 58 in the Eastern Cape, 38 in the Free State, 4 in KwaZulu-Natal, 6 in Gauteng and 1 in the Western Cape.
“This brings the total number of Covid-19-related deaths to 17,780,” Mkhize said.
The cumulative number of tests performed to date is 4,407,441 with 19,270 new tests performed since the last report.
Read: Next week’s budget could be decisive for South Africa – here are 9 things to keep in mind
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