Fact check: No, Ramaphosa not shifting SA to Level 5 this week
- South African social media has been buzzing with speculation that the nation will be moving to harder lockdown this week
- Many are convinced that Level 5 is just around the corner amid a spike in Covid-19 infections during the festive season
- Briefly.co.za explores the facts of the matter to determine whether or not a family meeting is expected in the next few days
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South Africans have been debating the risk of the nation returning to Level 5 restrictions at some point this week.
A message surfaced online saying that 'a source close to the command council' had revealed meetings were underway to discuss measures set to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The message stated that it is believed that the 'President will take South Africa to Level 5 of the lockdown for a period of seven days starting tomorrow midnight'.
Source: UGC
However, multiple sources have come out to condemn this message as false, including state spokesperson Phumla Williams who commented that:
"This message is doing the rounds on social media. This is fake, there is no planned National Coronavirus Command Council meeting."
Williams spoke to News24, confirming that the needed procedures for the announcement to take place are simply not on the cards, a sure sign that no family meeting is looming.
Williams pointed out that there are currently no NatJoints or NCCC meetings planned, highlighting that unless something 'major' happened in SA, the shift to Level 5 remains unlikely.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that Twitter has been abuzz with speculative posts regarding the possible return of a hard Level 5 lockdown as cases of Covid-19 continue to rise.
Various Twitter users have said that they have heard from friends and relatives who work in government departments that they have been told that the country will go back into a hard lockdown.
Many have speculated that South African might be put into a lockdown for up to seven days. None of this has been confirmed and tweeps are sharing their opinions and reactions to the possible return of a hard lockdown.
@sheldon_cameron: "Another reason we're in this mess is that people didn't maintain the Level 5 lockdown mentality when restrictions were eased the first time around."
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Source: Briefly News
