President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday placed South Africa under tougher restrictions that include a ban on all gatherings and the sale of alcohol.
Ramaphosa said the Delta variant that was driving the spike of Covid-19 infections was easier to catch and prevention measures in place were no longer sufficient.
He said the priority was to break the chain of transmission by reducing person-to-person contact.
Ramaphosa said Cabinet had decided to place the country on adjusted alert level four for 14 days.
He said from Monday, 28 June, to Sunday 11 July all gatherings are prohibited. This includes political, cultural, social, and religious gatherings.
However, funeral gatherings with a maximum of 50 people are allowed.
Ramaphosa said “after tears” was not allowed. There will be no all-night vigils.
He said beaches and parks will remain open but no gatherings will be permitted.
There will be a curfew from 9pm to 4am, the president said.
The sale of alcohol on-site and off-site is prohibited as is the travel to and from Gauteng for leisure.
Restaurants will be limited to takeaways.
Ramaphosa said schools will close from Wednesday. All schools must be closed by Friday.
Earlier at the weekend scientists revealed that the Delta variant was driving the exponential rise in infections.
South Africa is in the throes of the third wave, which has seen hospitalisations and fatalities rise.
On Sunday, the Department of Health said the “cumulative number of Covid-19 cases reported in South Africa on 27th June 2021 is 1 928 897 with 15 036 new cases reported.
“There are 158 998 active cases in the country.
“There are 122 reported deaths, which brings the total to 59 900. The recovery rate is 88,7%.”
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases said a total of 55,920 tests were conducted in the last 24 hrs with a 26.9% positivity rate.
In times like this, South Africa needs its heroes.
Appropriately, Ramaphosa called on the wisdom of Nelson Mandela for inspiration.
Quoting the great leader, Ramaphosa said: “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter;
“I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”
