South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced a relaxation of lockdown regulations as the country gets moved to an adjusted level 3 lockdown with immediate effect, reported News24.
In a nationalised address on Sunday, Ramaphosa said the country is making progress in its fight against the coronavirus. He added that South Africa had almost passed the peak of its third coronavirus wave, although there are still some areas of concern.
He said that the last 28 days of restrictions have been effective in reducing cases, with the country averaging around 12,000 new cases each day.
“We have largely passed the peak of the third wave of infections, although there are areas in the country where we still need to be concerned because the rates of infections have not yet shown signs of decline,” Ramaphosa said.
The South African president added that the lockdown regulations that have been imposed over the past 28 days have largely been effective in curbing the spread of coronavirus.
As part of the amended regulations under level 3 lockdown, the curfew will now start at 10 pm and end at 4 am. The ban on the sale of alcohol has been lifted and the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption will be permitted between 10 am and 6 pm from Monday to Thursday. Restaurants are now permitted to serve alcohol on-site until 8 pm. Leisure travel to and from Gauteng is permitted.
Restaurants, bars, taverns, fitness centers, and other non-essential establishments can now reopen but must close by 8 pm to allow staff to travel home before curfew. Gatherings are restricted to 100 people outdoors and 50 people indoors, alternatively 50% of the venue capacity to ensure adequate social distancing.
The South African president said the health authorities have administered more than 6.3 million vaccines so far, with over 10 percent of our population having received a vaccine dose. He also announced that people between the ages of 18 and 34 will be eligible for vaccination from September 1.
