Covid-19: South Africa to Move to Adjusted Alert Level 2 on Monday
- President Cyril Ramaphosa told South Africa that due to the increase in infections South Africa will move into adjusted alert level two
- Covid-19 restrictions will come back into force which will limit the number of public gatherings and the curfew will be reintroduced
- The vaccine programme continues and Ramaphosa urged South Africans to register on the system
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President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday evening. He started his address reminding South Africans that it had been a while since he had addressed the nation on Covid-19.
He said that Covid-19 infections have increased over the past week. As a result, South Africa will be moving to an adjusted alert level two.
Source: UGC
New Restrictions
- Face masks are mandatory and it will be treated as a criminal offence not to wear a mask.
- Non-essential businesses must close at 10 pm from Monday.
- Avoid indoor spaces
- Meetings should take places outside or in a well-ventilated place
- Funerals are limited to 100 people
- The curfew will return and will start at 11 pm and end at 4 am
- If someone tests positive for Covid-19 they must self isolate regardless if they show symptoms or not.
- Indoor gatherings are limited to 100 people
- Outdoor gatherings are limited to 250 people
- Alcohol sales will continue as normal but no alcohol will be sold during curfew
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Vaccinations
Ramaphosa said that South Africa has embarked in the largest mass vaccination programme in its history.
Both vaccine doses are necessary to provide maximum protection. The president said that in the next few days one million of South Africa's most vulnerable would be vaccinated.
Three million people are registered on the online vaccine registration system.
There are more than 400 vaccination centres across the country and the government has enough vaccine doses for the whole country.
The types of vaccines will vary and include vaccines from all over the world, including the Sputnik vaccine from Russia.
The Johnson Johnson vaccine delivery has been delayed due to an issue at a production plant in America.
South Africa is making preparations to produce vaccinations in the country in order to severe its dependency on foreign-made vaccines.
This would help fight Covid-19 and future pandemics.
Increased infections
Experts have advised that a positivity rate of over 5 % is cause for concern. Ramaphosa said that it is only a matter of time until South Africa is in the grip of a third wave.
He said one of the reasons for the rise in infection is the increased number of public gatherings where people are not observing correct social distance measures.
South Africans have become complacent as a result of "pandemic fatigue" Ramaphosa said. He warned the other countries have shown the tragic consequences of allowing the virus to spread unchecked.
Ramaphosa said that an increase in restrictions is now necessary to delay the spread of the virus and to save lives.
The restrictions are more necessary now in order to give people the opportunity to get vaccinated.
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Source: Briefly News
