President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the termination of the national state of disaster on Covid-19 on Monday evening.
“While the virus continues to circulate, it is not causing the same levels of severe illness that require hospitalisation or the same number of deaths. While the pandemic is not over and while the virus remains among us these conditions no longer require that we remain in a national state of disaster.”
30 days from now, the following transitional measures will automatically be over:
- Wearing a face mask in an indoor space (except for children under the age of six).
- The current restrictions on gatherings will stay in place. A Covid test or a vaccination must be done before 50% of the capacity can be taken in at both indoor and outdoor venues, but it can be done either way. The unvaccinated can have groups of 1,000 people inside and 2,000 people outside.
- Travelers will need to show that they’ve been vaccinated or have a negative Covid-19 test.
- The Department of Social Development is working on new rules that will continue paying the R350 Social Relief Distress grant.
- The directions extending the grace period for driving licences remain in place.
In a separate article for Times Live, opposition parties are “unhappy with the government keeping some Covid-19 regulations”. The DA spokesperson has voiced his concern about lifting the state of disaster.
“It is extremely worrying to us that despite the formal lifting of this state of disaster, our government now seems to be hell-bent on normalising the restrictions that we faced for so long by introducing regulations to the Health Act that will effectively normalise this very abnormal state of affairs and shift the power of unnatural regulations to the minister of health,” said Cilliers Brink.
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