Last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his latest COVID-19 update speech, in which he announced further easing of lockdown restrictions while continuing to urge all South Africans to be cautious and not to lose sight in the battle to contain the virus.
Once again, President Ramaphosa delivered a measured address where he gave details on the latest COVID-19 developments, outlining the Eastern Cape as a new epicentre for the virus, where daily infections have increased by 50% in recent weeks. Before announcing the easing of certain lockdown restrictions, Ramaphosa made clear that the battle against COVID-19 is far from over, but that preserving lives and livelihoods is the government’s priority. Here’s a look at some of the changes to existing lockdown restrictions:
State of disaster extended and curfew remains in place
The state of disaster, which has been the order of the day since the beginning of the outbreak has been extended to 15 December, meaning most of the current restrictions will remain in place - including the curfew between 12am and 4am every night.
R350 Special COVID-19 Grant extended
The government will continue to pay out the R350 grant to vulnerable South Africans for another three months, until January 2021, despite the fact that many relief programs are starting to be scaled back.
“This will provide much needed income to around 6 million people who are unemployed and do not receive any other form of government grant,” President Ramaphosa said, as reported by IOL.
UIF TERS benefit extended to October 15
With many salaries being cut, many employees will be relieved to know that, despite speculation to the contrary, there will be at least one more Temporary Employment Relief Scheme (TERS) payment made to employees who have lost income because of COVID-19.
Restrictions on international travel eased
People from all countries will now be permitted to travel into South Africa, provided necessary protocols are in place and travellers present a certified negative COVID-19 test result. This will be particularly welcoming news for South Africa’s tourism industry ahead of the festive season.
Hours for retail sales of alcohol normalised
“We are amending the alert level 1 regulations to restore the normal trading hours for the sale of alcohol at retail outlets,” the President said.
Following the President’s speech, more updates on the details of the new set of restrictions are set to be announced by relevant Cabinet ministers in the coming days.
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