SOUTH AFRICA RETURNS TO STRICTER LOCKDOWN AS COUNTRY FACES THIRD COVID WAV

Mon 31 May 2021:

South Africa’s overnight curfew has been extended and government has limited the number of people allowed at gatherings in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19 as positive cases surge.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday introduced new COVID-19 restrictions to help curb the spread of the coronavirus as the country inches into a third wave of the pandemic.

“After several months of low transmission, the number of infections has begun to rise sharply in several parts of the country,’’ President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation.

He said the country has seen a sustained increase of cases over the last four weeks, with the last seven days recording an average of 3,745 daily new infections.

“This is an increase of 31% on the previous week, and an increase of 66% on the week before that,’’ he said.

South Africa, the most affected country on the continent, has recorded nearly 1.66 million cases, 56,363 deaths, and 1.5 million recoveries representing a recovery rate of 93.7%, according to the Health Ministry figures.

Ramaphosa said that with the new sharp increase in cases it may only be a matter of time before the country as a whole descends into a third wave.

“While the country is headed towards a third wave of infections, we do not yet know how severe this wave will be or for how long it will last,’’ he said.

South Africa’s leader noted that according to health experts, the new surge in infections is due to the increasing number of social gatherings where people are not observing essential health protocols.

He said that in a bid to curb the spread and delay a looming third wave, the country will move from Level 1 — a softer lockdown — to an adjusted Level 2 lockdown starting Monday.

Some of the new restrictions announced include the new curfew hours, starting at 11 p.m. and ending at 4 a.m.

Wearing a face mask that covers the nose and mouth at all times in public spaces is mandatory and not complying with this is a criminal offense, according to the new restrictions.

The president also announced that funerals remain restricted to no more than 100 people, and, as before, night vigils, and after-funeral gatherings are not allowed.

Bars and restaurants have to close by 10 p.m. for employees and patrons to leave before the curfew.

Updated lockdown rules for schools

Basic education minister Angie Motshekga has gazetted updated lockdown regulations for South Africa’s schools. Businesstech reported

A key change will see primary school pupils and pupils with special needs return to full-time learning from the end of July.

Currently, most students in South Africa are learning in a shift system, with a large amount of learning and coursework still expected to be done at home in an effort to increase social distancing.

Motshekga said her department will now use a risk-adjusted differentiated strategy – where school attendance is determined by the direction the pandemic is taking in specific districts or the country as a whole.

Under this system, primary school learners (Grades R to 7) must return to the daily attendance and traditional timetabling model from 26 July 2021.

The department said that, where practicable, teaching and learning may be conducted outside the confines of a classroom. Schools must also use all the available rooms or spaces to prevent overcrowding in a classroom.

The movement of learners must be minimised during teaching time with teachers rotating between lessons. Schools that cannot return to the traditional timetabling model are expected to provide official reasons to the government.

The gazette does not indicate when high schools will resume normal timetabling.

Sports and extracurricular activities

In line with a departmental announcement last week, Motshekga confirmed that all contact sport, including competitive events and matches, are suspended.

As of Sunday, South Africa recorded a total of 1 662 825 confirmed Covid-19 cases. 3 755 new cases were recorded in the last 24-hour cycle. 76 new Covid-19-related fatalities have been recorded, taking the official death toll to 56 439.

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