The state of national disaster, declared in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been extended until September 15 in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced.
However, the government has reduced the national blockade to Level 2 of its five-tier strategic technique to deal with the pandemic, which has killed more than 11,000 people in the country. “The switch to point 2 means that we can eliminate to the maximum all restrictions on the resumption of economic activity in the maximum industries,” Ramaphosa said On Saturday night and explained how the closure had affected millions of others through poverty, hunger and unemployment.
“Economic activity will be allowed with strict mandatory and appropriate fitness protocols and protective precautions,” the president said. The questionable ban on tobacco and alcohol products has also been lifted, which has noted a number of cases brought in the courts that oppose the government of closure, subject with certain restrictions on sales schedules.
South Africa has the top fifth highest number of virus cases in the world with more than 5,79,000 cases shown and has reported more than 11,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. Under Level 2 of the COVID-19 strategic approach, interprovincial access will be allowed but the foreigner will remain prohibited; Meetings will be limited to 50 people, adding funerals and devoted events; Spectators will not be allowed to play at sporting events; and there will be a curfew from 10 p.m. at four in the morning every day.
Restrictions on the circle of family members and social visits have been lifted, Ramaphosa suggested that everyone exercise excessive caution and adopt such visits only if necessary. He said the existing blocking point could simply be reduced due to minimization in COVID-19 instances and the willingness of hospitals to deal with the crisis.
But the president warned others that we were still expecting difficult days and asked that all non-pharmaceutical interventions continue to wear masks, maintaining social distance, taking extra precautions for the elderly and rbibitants, and fleeing the house whenever possible. “We cannot please or abandon the fitness precautions we know we will have to take. The slightest lack of vigilance at this time can lead to a resurgence of infections at a much higher rate and scale than we have noticed so far,” he added. Ramaphosa said.
“We have noticed that this happens in other countries, where strict short-term restrictions have had to be re-imposed, while the infection rate increases after the trigger,” he said. Ramaphosa said it is now known that a giant proportion of other people inflamed with the virus have no symptoms and would probably not even know they were inflamed.
“It may be swollen. Like you,” he said. “With this in mind, each of us will have to be potentially inflamed with the virus and continue to behave responsibly so as not to transmit it to others,” the president said.
Over the more than 3 weeks, the number of new cases shown in South Africa has increased from a peak of more than 12,000 consistent with the day to an average in the following week of around 5,000 consistent with the day. The recovery rate is greater than 48% to 80%.
“The additional easing of restrictions gives us the greatest opportunity since the beginning of the pandemic to bring our economy to life in suffering. Even if we open up economic activity, industries and businesses will take a long time to recover, and many things remain to be done. “to do, ” said Ramaphosa.
He said the government, unions, companies and network organizations were working in a country combined in an emergency economic recovery program that puts coverage and job creation at its center. We will seize this moment not only to bring South Africa back to where it was before, but also to our country towards a more egalitarian, fairer and more dynamic economy. However, difficult days are coming. However, we have demonstrated the resistance of our country for more than five months,” Ramaphosa said.
“The task now is to the same energies with which we are fighting this pandemic in the economic recovery effort,” he said.