Unvaccinateunvaccinated new covid lawsd

The government’s draft proposals would stop the unvaccinated from enjoying the same freedoms as everyone else – Photo: Patrick T. FALLON / AFP

New draft COVID laws: Life will get MUCH tougher for SA’s unvaccinated

Once the State of Disaster has been terminated, the vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens of SA will be living very different existences.

Unvaccinateunvaccinated new covid lawsd

The government’s draft proposals would stop the unvaccinated from enjoying the same freedoms as everyone else – Photo: Patrick T. FALLON / AFP

Combing through the latest draft COVID laws – which the government hope will replace the State of Disaster – doesn’t make for easy reading if you’re unvaccinated. The National Health Act is planning for life after the pandemic, where certain health protocols will be retained to help control the virus.

New COVID laws ‘not great’ for the unvaccinated

The new guidance will be submitted to NATJOINTS next month, and if all goes to plan, South Africa will see its emergency-induced lockdown restrictions terminated for the first time in two years.

However, in some settings, mask mandates and social distancing requirements will still be enforced. The government is also hoping to retain its right to impose harder phases of lockdown, should a devastating resurgence of COVID – or the arrival of ANOTHER serious viral disease – hit our shores.

Draft bill would ‘complicate things’ for unvaccinated citizens’

Once approved, these draft laws will reflect how our society has been changed ‘for good’ by the spread of coronavirus. But this planned return to near-normality will grant more freedoms to the vaccinated over the unvaccinated. For those insisting on avoiding the jab, the new proposals state the following:

  • You will need to pay for a PCR test if you want to leave or re-enter SA, but vaccinated folks won’t.
  • Going to larger gatherings will not be an option. Entry to major venues will require proof of vaccination.
  • Stadiums, concerts, large rallies will operate at 50% of the venue capacity – for jabbed citizens ONLY.
  • At indoor events, the unvaccinated will only be allowed to go if fewer than 1 000 people are in attendance
  • At outdoor events, the unvaccinated will only be allowed to go if fewer than 2 000 people are in attendance.

South Africa’s mixed fortunes with the vaccine…

Just under half of the eligible South African population have got themselves fully vaccinated. The booster programme has also been rolled out, and although take-up rates are fairly high amongst seniors, other groups lag behind.

Without the high vaccination rates seen in places the the UK and the EU, South Africa hasn’t quite been able to jab its way to total freedom – meaning that a dependency on masks and gathering limits will remain.