President Ramaphosa tightens lockdown restrictions in Covid 19 Hotspot Areas.


By Phumzile Mavimbela

"Unless we do things differently, this will be the last Chrismas for some" For this may be the last Chrismas they see, this was a sad statement uttered by President Cyril Ramaphosa as he addressed the nation on the increasing rates of Covid 19 related cases. Ramaphosa has warned S0uthSouth Africans that if people continue not complying to the health regulation the worst awaits the country.  

To curb the effect of the second wave the president has tightened regulations  and well as restrictions. He said they identified 
two more districts as Covid 19 hot spots and these are :

  • Sarah Baartman District 
  • Garden Route District 
 
He said this all means that the same additional restrictions that we applied to Nelson Mandela Bay will apply in these districts from midnight tonight and will continue until we see a clear and sustained decline in infections. While these hotspot areas require particular attention, the festive season poses significant risks for the entire country.
 
"We have therefore been undertaking consultations in provinces, including at municipal level, on the measures that need to be taken to contain the second wave."
 
Ramaphosa also said there have been extensive deliberations within the National Coronavirus Command Council and the President’s Coordinating Council, which brings representatives of national, provincial and local government together.
 
"Based on the recommendations from these meetings, Cabinet has decided that further restrictions need to be imposed nation-wide from midnight tonight." He added that Firstly, government  will ensure that there is stricter enforcement of existing alert level 1 restrictions throughout the country during the festive season and beyond. This includes the requirement that drivers and operators of any form of public transport must ensure that all passengers wear a mask.
 
The managers or owners of buildings, places or premises – including retail stores, shopping centres, and government buildings – are obliged by law to ensure that all customers who enter their facilities or buildings wear a mask.
 
An employer must ensure that all employees wear a mask while they perform their duties. This places a responsibility on all owners, managers and employers – and on all of us – to ensure that South Africans are safe whenever they are in any of these places. The responsible individuals who do not ensure compliance with the regulations by their passengers, customers or employees will be liable to a fine or to imprisonment of up to six months.
 
Secondly, cabinet is taking measures to reduce the risk of super-spreading events.
 
The current restrictions on the size of gatherings do not do enough to prevent crowding in the current situation where new cases are rising rapidly.

Therefore, gatherings – including religious gatherings – may not be attended by more than 100 people for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events.
 
At all times, and particularly in smaller venues, the total number of people in a venue may not exceed more than 50% of the capacity of the venue.
 
All gatherings must include adequate ventilation, social distancing, wearing of masks and provision of hand-sanitiser.
 
Due to the potential for transmission, all post-funeral gatherings, including ‘after-tears’ parties, are prohibited.
 
One of the greatest challenges we need to confront are the huge crowds that flock to beaches and recreational parks on public holidays over the festive season.
 
Ramaphosa said that government  has  undertaken extensive consultations on this issue so that we can find an approach that reduces the risk of large-scale transmission while limiting the negative impact on businesses in coastal areas.Mareas. More so they  have therefore agreed to adopt a differentiated approach, which takes into account the different circumstances in different areas of the country.
 
In the areas with the highest rate of infection, beaches and public parks will be closed for the duration of the festive season from the 16th of December to the 3rd of January.
 
This will apply to all of the Eastern Cape, as well as to the Garden Route district in the Western Cape.
 
In KwaZulu-Natal, beaches and public parks will be closed on what are traditionally the busiest days of the season.
 
These days are the 16th, 25th, 26th and 31st of December 2020 and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January 2021.
 
The beaches and public parks of the Northern Cape and the Western Cape – with the exception of the Garden Route – will remain open to the public over the festive season.
 
Festivals, live music, and live performances at beaches are prohibited.
 
Beaches and parks that are open to the public will only be open between 9am and 6pm.
 
The situation will be monitored daily by local authorities to ensure compliance with the regulations on gatherings and the prohibition of alcohol.
 
In instances, where there are large crowds or poor compliance with safety measures, specific beaches and recreational parks will be closed.
 
National and provincial parks and other parks where access control measures and entry limitations are already in place may remain open to the public. This is a most trying situation, which requires constant attention.

"I have directed that all members of the National Coronavirus Command Council and key personnel should be on standby to ensure constant monitoring and assessment of the situation countrywide. Should the situation deteriorate, further action will be taken to protect our people."
 
The third area of focus over this period is to prevent super-spreader events and reduce the burden on health care services due to irresponsible alcohol consumption.
 
Therefore, the following measures will be implemented:
 
The hours of the curfew will be longer, starting at 11pm and ending at 4am.
 
Non-essential establishments, including restaurants and bars, will have to close at 10pm so that staff and patrons can 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.
 
The president said 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 sale of alcohol from retail outlets will only be permitted between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday.
 
Registered wineries and wine farms may continue to offer tastings and wine sales to the public for off-site consumption over weekends. This exception is being made due to the vital contribution of these establishments to the tourism sector in several parts of the country.
 
Alcohol consumption in all public spaces, such as beaches and parks, is strictly forbidden. "We will not allow large numbers of people congregating in any one place without proper controls or protocols in place." These festive season restrictions will be reviewed in early January based on the state of the pandemic across the country.
  

In determining the response to the second wave of infections, government has sought to carefully balance the need to save lives and to protect livelihoods.
 
The national lockdown which we imposed at the beginning of the epidemic was designed to delay the spread of the virus so that we could adequately prepare our health system to respond to the rise of infections. At that time, government was not ready to cope with a sudden increase of cases and hospital admissions. Ramaphosa added they  they  needed to secure adequate equipment and supplies, to make additional space available in our health facilities, to train our healthcare workers and to put in place systems to monitor and respond to trends in the epidemic.
 
" A full lockdown was absolutely necessary to delay the epidemic but would not serve the same purpose now." 

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Cyril Ramaphosa

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