President Cyril Ramaphosa has tightened the state’s grip in their bid to climb past the coronavirus crisis. Following two gruelling days of meetings with key stakeholders, a series of new measures designed to limit social interactions and prevent the mass spread of COVID-19 are being brought into place.
South Africa Lockdown – what you need to know (summarized version)
New Measures :
1. Nation Wide Lockdown for 21 Days
2. Starts Midnight 26th March 2020
3. All South Africans to Stay Home
4. Except for Emergency Personnel, Police, Health Workers etc
5. Banking to continue
6. Telecoms to continue
7. Individuals are not allowed to leave home except for Food Shopping etc
8. All shops and businesses will be closed, except for Pharmacies, Petrol Stations, Supermarkets, Banks etc
9. SA defense force will be deployed to ensure compliance and assistance to police
10. All South Africans arriving into the country will be quarantined for 14 days before being allowed to go see their families
11. International Travel has been suspended
12. This is considered the First Phase of Interventions
13. More Interventions will be introduced later if things escalate
14. These interventions will assist the country to cope with the number of infections, diagnosis and treatment
15. Rupert and Oppenheimer have donated R1 Billion Each to assist small businesses in this times of hardships
16. There will be a continuous supply of daily food at supermarkets. There is therefore no need to stockpile foods or buy in bulk etc
17. All employees falling ill will be paid their salaries through UIF compensation
18. Details of these will be made available in due course
19. All earning below R6500 per month will receive Tax Relief over the next four months
20. All will be prosecuted for choosing to exploit in this time
Ramaphosa explains his move
“Without decisive action, hundreds of thousands of people could catch the disease. We have a large number of people with immune system illnesses, and millions who live in poverty. Therefore, we have decided to enforce a 21-day lockdown from Thursday 26 March to Thursday 16th April – this will have an impact on our livelihoods.
“Exemptions from working include health workers, emergency personnel, security services, soldiers and those involved with food production and supply. Banking services, those in power and water, and lab workers are also exempt. We will publish this full list in due course.”- Cyril Ramaphosa
