President Cyril Ramaphosa announced tonight that the country will be moving to adjusted alert level 4 lockdown for the next two weeks, from Monday, June 28 until July 11.
This means that the following restrictions will now be in place:
- All gatherings – whether indoors or outdoors – are prohibited. These include, religious, political, cultural and social gatherings.
- Funerals and cremations are permitted, but attendance may not exceed 50 people and all social distancing and health protocols must be observed.
- Night vigils, after-funeral gatherings and ‘after-tears’ gatherings are not allowed.
- Public spaces, such as beaches and parks, will remain open. However, no gatherings will be permitted.
- A curfew will be in place from 21:00 to 04:00 and all non-essential establishments will need to close by 20:00.
- The sale of alcohol both for on-site and off-site consumption is prohibited.
“Our Ministerial Advisory Committee has advised that the limited restrictions previously imposed were not that effective and that a prohibition will ease the pressure that is placed on hospital services by alcohol-related emergency incidents,” Ramaphosa said.
He then added that because of the burden of infections in Gauteng, travel in and out of the province for leisure purposes will be prohibited.
“This does not include work, business or commercial travel, transit through airports or for the transport of goods. If you are currently not in your place of residence, you will be allowed to return home to or from Gauteng,” he added.
More restrictions include:
- Visits to old age homes, care facilities and other ‘congregant settings’ will be restricted.
- Restaurants and other eateries will only be permitted to sell food for take-away or delivery. This is because it is not possible for patrons to wear masks while eating or drinking in these establishments.
- The closure of schools and other educational institutions for the winter holidays will be brought forward. Schools will start closing from this Wednesday, June 30 and all schools will be expected to be closed by the end of the week, on Friday.
- Contact classes at tertiary institutions will end by Wednesday, June 30, with limited access to the institutions. Residences will however remain open.
“The measures that we are putting in place now are designed to allow as much economic activity to continue as possible, while containing the spread of the virus. Most businesses will continue to operate at full capacity and should not be affected. Our focus is on limiting social contacts while preserving the economy. I want to emphasise that it remains mandatory for every person to wear a face mask that always covers their nose and mouth when in public spaces. It is an offense not to do so,” Ramaphosa said.
