By OBAKENG MAJE
The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) in the North West has welcomed new adjusted Level 1 Lockdown rules. This follows a meeting between the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa and the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) recently.
In a statement from the presidency, Ramaphosa said the information gathered through the system used by the Department of Health has reported a 29.7% decrease in the number of new cases detected in the week ending 25 December 2021 (89,781), compared to the number of new cases detected in the previous week (127,753).
“All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level. Cases declined in all provinces except the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, which recorded increases of 14% and 18%, respectively.
“There has been a decline in hospital admissions in all provinces except the Western Cape. While the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been a lower rate of hospitalisation than in previous waves,” he said.
Ramaphosa further said this means that the country has a spare capacity for admission of patients even for routine health services. He added that there is a marginal increase in the number of deaths in all the provinces.
“Based on the trajectory of the pandemic, the levels of vaccination in the country and the available capacity within the health sector, Cabinet has decided to make changes to Adjusted Alert Level 1 with immediate effect.
“The curfew will be lifted, therefore there will be no restrictions on the hours of movement of people. Gatherings are restricted to no more than 1 000 people indoors and no more than 2 000 people outdoors,” said Ramaphosa.
He said where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue may be used. Ramaphosa said all other restrictions remain in place.
“’Alcohol establishments that have licenses to operate beyond 23h00 will revert back to full license conditions. The NCCC will continue to closely monitor the situation and will make further adjustments as necessary, particularly if pressure on health facilities increases.
“The wearing of masks in public places is still mandatory, and failure to wear a mask when required remains a criminal offense. South Africans are urged to continue observing basic health protocols to prevent the transmission of the virus,” he said.
SANCO provincial chairperson, Paul Sebegoe said: “We appeal to communities to celebrate the New Year responsibly and peacefully, while guarding against the spread of COVID-19 fuelled by the Omicron variant.
“Complacency and excitement must not overwhelm us to the point of us dropping our guard as this will undermine the gains and the national effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. All of us must be vigilant and conscious of the threat that the new variant poses to our lives and livelihoods.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Tourism, Manny de Freitas lifting of the curfew means that the decimated tourism, hospitality, restaurant and entertainment sectors have an opportunity to rebuild themselves.
“Taking into account the various supply chains involved, this translates into hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be saved. This in turn can have only positive spin-offs for our economy.
“This announcement couldn’t have come sooner. New Year’s Eve is one of the most important periods for any of the tourism, restaurant, hospitality and entertainment sectors. In many cases these businesses rely on these high income generating periods to counter other quieter periods in the year,” he said.
The Guardian 