By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele says the state of disaster will remain in place despite the Covid-19 curfew being lifted.
Gungubele was speaking at a virtual briefing to media on Friday.
He said Cabinet had to weigh the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus against the economic impact the curfew has on livelihoods.
At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, just days ahead of New Year’s Eve, the government decided to do away with the curfew. There was a strong push for it to be scrapped, especially from the hospitality industry and opposition political parties.
Gungubele said the decision was made in line with scientific considerations, adding that experts made it clear that the Omicron variant did not have as much of a clinical impact on the healthcare system as other variants.
Cabinet decided to make these changes to adjusted alert level 1:
- The curfew is lifted. There will be no restrictions on the hours of movement of people.
- Gatherings are restricted to no more than 1,000 people indoors and no more than 2,000 people outdoors. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used. All other restrictions remain in place.
Gungubele said the government of Africa’s most advanced but battered economy took the action to try “balance between livelihoods and saving lives.”
With the comfort that the country had surpassed the peak, he said the government faced economic recovery.
“Our hope is that the curfew does not return, and people should keep following measures to prevent curfew coming back. We wish that it never comes back,” Gungubele added.
Gungubele said the government would ideally like to see the country out of a State of Disaster. He added, however, that it was the only tool it had to deal with emergencies and that it would remain in place.
“Government does not like the State of Disaster. Circumstances have caused the need for it.
“We would want a situation where the entire economy is in full swing, but we would not want to do away with the tool that helps us deal with issues. Without a State of Disaster, we would be decapitated. We are praying conditions to do away with it do come our way,” Gungubele said.
South Africa has been the hardest hit by coronavirus on the continent, recording more than 3.4 million cases and 91 000 deaths. But fewer than 13 000 infections had been recorded in the past 24 hours.