South Africa plans to boost COVID-19 constraints for another two weeks.
According to President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday, the existing containment measures are inadequate to manage the speed and scale of new infections.
“Additional restrictions are necessary… Our focus is on limiting social contacts while preserving the economy,” Ramaphosa said.
Following the new guidelines put in place, all physical meetings will be forbidden, there will be a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and the sale of alcohol will be prohibited.
Schools will start closing on Wednesday, however, beaches and parks will stay open. Restaurants will only take away or deliver food.
Ramaphosa remarked that they will monitor the impact after two weeks and declare the way forward.
“We will assess the impact of these interventions after 14 days to determine whether they need to be maintained or adjusted.”
President Ramaphosa further confirmed that South Africa in recent times received 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine via the COVAX Facility and an additional 1.2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Despite the doses received, South Africa’s vaccination rate has been low with only around 2.7 million doses administered in a total population of 60 million.
The government has resolved to set a target of more than twice the rate of daily vaccinations in the next month.
The country as of now stands as the worst hit on the African continent with it recording close to 18,000 new cases on Saturday only.
By Everlyne Bosibori
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