By OBAKENG MAJE
South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa said they have decided to move the country to the adjusted alert Level 1 following meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC).
Ramaphosa who addressed the nation last night said, the hours of the curfew will change from 12 midnight to 4 am, while non-essential establishments like restaurants, bars, and fitness centres will need to close by 11 pm to allow their employees and patrons to travel home before the start of the curfew.
“The maximum number of people permitted to gather indoors will increase from 250 to 750, and the maximum number of people permitted to gather outdoors will increase from 500 to 2,000.
“Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social
distancing, then no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used. This includes religious services, political events, and social gatherings, as well as restaurants,
bars, taverns, and similar places,” said Ramaphosa.
He further said the maximum number of people permitted at a funeral will increase from 50 to 100. Ramaphosa added that as before, night vigils, after-funeral gatherings, and after-tears gatherings are still not allowed.
“The sale of alcohol for both off-site and on-site consumption will be permitted, according to
normal license provisions, however, no alcohol may be sold after 11 pm. The wearing of masks in public places is still mandatory and failure to wear a mask when required remains a criminal offense,” he said.
Ramaphosa said as part of the effort to return the most affected parts of the economy to operation, they are looking at further relaxation of restrictions, particularly with respect to sporting and cultural events. He said if people continue to work together as they have
been doing, more areas of activity will open up.
However, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen said: “We repeat our call for Ramaphosa to end the lockdown altogether, to save livelihoods. People are suffering and jobs continue to be lost unnecessarily to senseless restrictions that have long since been ignored by his own party.
“Ramaphosa and his government appear not to grasp the severity of our jobs crisis that has produced the world’s highest recorded unemployment rate of 44%. Only the most callously uncaring leaders would continue to force job-destroying restrictions on law-abiding people while breaking those rules themselves.”
He said they call for an end to the State of Disaster, which is enabling corruption by allowing government departments to bypass stricter financial control measures.
“The SIU report into the Digital Vibes scandal shows exactly why the State of Disaster must be ended immediately, and why the ANC is so reluctant to do so. Corruption with impunity is the only thing holding his party together.
“Which is why Ramaphosa dragged his feet on making the Digital Vibes report public and failed to condemn Zweli Mkhize, praising him instead for “serving our nation well”. It is not enough for those involved in this scandal to lose their jobs. They too must be prosecuted and jailed if found guilty,” Steenhuisen said.
He said there is no justification for continuing the lockdown and the State of Disaster. Steenhuisen said COVID-19 cases are decreasing across all nine provinces and every adult has by now had ample opportunity to get vaccinated, and people are well aware of the precautions they need to take to manage the risks they face.
The Guardian 