During his digital press conference on Tuesday, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said he has called on the government to do away with all Covid-19 restrictions on mask-wearing and gatherings.
“In practice, this means that we need to allow congregations, convention centres, stadiums, and other economic hubs to operate at full capacity once again while we continue to safely navigate life,” Winde said.
“By doing away with these restrictions, we will enable businesses to operate at full capacity and grow.”
Winde said residents should be allowed to practice the necessary behaviours that they deem fit and that they have learnt throughout the pandemic, to protect themselves and those around them.
“We have made this call to the President because we can now safely and fully reopen our economy. This is because there has been a continued decoupling between Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations, and deaths. The clearest indicator of this is that in the Western Cape there has been a reduction in severe disease during the current resurgence and the fourth wave, compared to earlier waves.”
Winde said the statistics clearly reflects this.
“We, as a Provincial Government, are fighting for our residents’ businesses and jobs. The recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey has demonstrated that our country’s unemployment rate has reached a crisis level and needs to be addressed with the same urgency that we showed when confronting Covid-19.
“It is for this reason, based on clear data in support of this call, that I call for the lifting of all remaining Covid-19 restrictions, and for this to urgently be done.
“Vaccinations and prior immunity further demonstrate that we can safely do away with all restrictions,” he relayed.
