With the uncertainty of which essential service is being rendered during the COVID-19 lockdown, the termination of pregnancy has been deemed an essential one by the Department of Health.
The 21-day lockdown was put in place by President Cyril Ramaphosa after declaring a national state of disaster in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 outbreaks March.
Ramaphosa has since extended the lockdown for a further 14 days. The decision was taken after an extensive meeting with the National Coronavirus Command Council which was held on Wednesday.
Most of the existing lockdown measures will remain in force until the end of April.
South Africa has 1934 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 18 deaths have been recorded so far.
Across the country, women who are faced with the decision of terminating a pregnancy can breathe a sigh of relief as they can still visit their local clinic or hospital to have the procedure done.
The Cluster Manager responsible for Maternal and Reproductive Health at the Department of Health, Dr Manala Makua says women who present themselves for termination of pregnancy services will not be turned away.
In an effort to better assist women who want to undergo a termination of pregnancy procedure during the lockdown, reproductive health and family planning services provider – Marie Stopes has offered to provide their clients letters of certificates.
Markerting and Brand Manager at Marie Stopes Whitney Chinogwenya says the certificates are to allow them to move easily through road blocks with no hassle.
Prenatal care along with reproductive health services will still be administered during the lockdown. The Department of Health has encouraged mothers to be to visit their local clinics to access these services.
Below are other amended COVID-19 regulations:
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