SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT ANNOUNCE NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS (WATCH)

Mon 14 December 2020:

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced new lockdown measures at both national, and district level for South Africa.

President announced that the sale of alcohol from retail outlets will only be permitted between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday.

He also announced that the national curfew has been extended from 11pm to 4am.

He said that the curfew would also apply on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

“We should all remember that the hours of curfew also apply to Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. This means that we will all need to make changes to the way in which we celebrate these occasions.”

The president said that non-essential establishments, including restaurants and bars, will have to close at 10pm so that staff and patrons could get home before the enforcement of the curfew.

“The curfew is meant to prevent gatherings that go on late into the night, while enabling restaurants, bars, and taverns to continue to operate and earn an income,” Ramaphosa said.

The president said that festivals, live music, and live performances at beaches will be prohibited.

He said that in instances where there were large crowds or poor compliance with safety measures, specific beaches, and recreational parks would be closed.

Further restrictions announced by the president included all passengers in vehicles being required to wear masks, restaurant managers ensuring that all patrons wear masks, and employers ensuring all employees wear their masks.

He said the daily average of COVID-19 deaths had increased by nearly 50% over the last seven days from just over 100 deaths a day to just over 150 deaths.

Ramaphosa said that most cases are reported in young people between 15 and 19 years. He said that one of the main reasons for the massive spike in infections are social gatherings and parties- particularly the matric rage event.

“In many of these gatherings, social distancing is not being observed, venues are crowded and not adequately ventilated, hand sanitiser is not readily available, and people are not wearing masks,” he said.

Many people consume alcoholic drinks at these ‘super-spreader’ events, with the result that people become less careful about taking measures to protect themselves and prevent infection.

“We now know that nearly 1,000 young people from Gauteng who attended the event have tested positive for the coronavirus. What we don’t yet know is how many more people each of them has infected.

The president said that gatherings, especially social gatherings and parties, were the largest source of outbreaks.

These restrictions will be reviewed in early January based on the state of the country’s coronavirus cases, he said.

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