President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced South Africa’s move to Alert Level 1 lockdown from midnight today. This followed meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council and the President’s Coordinating Council. 

“The hours of the curfew will change, from 12 midnight to 4 am. Non-essential establishments like restaurants, bars, and fitness centres will need to close by 11pm to allow their employees and patrons to travel home before the start of the curfew,” the President said.

Adjusted level one restrictions:

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Addressing the nation on the developments in the country’s fight against the pandemic, the President says the average number of new coronavirus cases for the last seven days was at around 1 800 a day.

He says South Africa has also seen sustained decreases in COVID-19  hospitalisations and deaths in all provinces.

The third wave of the virus lasted 130 days and 20 000 new cases were registered each day at the peak of the wave.

Vaccination programme

He has urged South Africans to get vaccinated and continue to observe the basic health protocols and order to fight the virus.
“Since we launched our national vaccination drive, it has been gathering pace. To date, we have administered over 17 million vaccine doses.  Over 8.6 million people are fully vaccinated, which is more than one-fifth of the adult population.”

The government has now set a target of vaccinating 70 % of the adult population in South Africa by the end of the year.

“If we reach this target, the Department of Health estimates that we could save up to 20 000 lives. That represents 20 000 people,  mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters,  whose death can be prevented if the majority of us chooses to get vaccinated.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation: