President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a level three COVID-19 lockdown across South Africa, beginning from Tuesday.
The move, according to the president on Monday, was made to curb the spread of the second wave of the deadly COVID-19 after the country recorded over 50,000 new cases since Christmas Eve.
According to him, the rapid rise in infections is being fuelled by super spreader events like year-end and family functions..
Ramaphosa added that the nationwide curfew has been extended from 9pm to 6am while all indoor and outdoor gatherings will be prohibited for 14 days with a few exceptions.
Speaking further, he said that the exceptions are; funerals and places like restaurants and gyms, which will be clarified in the official regulations.
“A person who does not wear a mask could be arrested and prosecuted. On conviction, they will be liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both a fine and imprisonment,” he said.
Additional details given by the president revealed that:
- Every individual will be responsible, legally, for wearing a mask in public. It is now compulsory for every person to wear a mask in a public place. Violators will be guilty of an offence, and could be prosecuted. They could be liable for a fine or imprisonment, or both.
- Alcohol sales from retail outlets and onsite consumption are banned. The prohibition on the public consumption of alcohol remains.
- Businesses will continue to operate, subject to guidelines. Nightclubs and businesses that rely on alcohol sales will not be allowed to operate.
- All beaches, dams, rivers and public parks and public pools in hotspot areas will be closed to the public.
Ramaphosa added that the measures will be in place until 15 January 2021, at which time they will be reviewed based on the situation, said.
At the time of this report, the African country has recorded a total of 1,011,871 COVID-19 infections and 27,071 deaths with a total of 849,974 recoveries, according to Worldometers.
