Photo: Helgoland01 / Flickr
Photo: Helgoland01 / Flickr
The COVID epicentre of SA has been hit with a set of SEPARATE restrictions. This comes after the deadly Delta variant was detected in the province. Gauteng will now operate under different rules to the rest of Mzansi, to curb a soaring rate of new infections. A leisure travel ban, and a set of guidelines for specific inter-provincial travel, come into force from Monday.
Level 4 latest – updated lockdown restrictions for SA, including inter-provincial guidance for GP
Cyril Ramaphosa delivered one of his gloomier lockdown addresses of the past 15 months, warning South Africans that the new variant poses an ‘entirely different risk’. The beleaguered president, who has also come under fire for his stewardship of the vaccine rollout, pleaded with South Africans to minimise their interactions with others on Sunday.
Gauteng itself is suffering. The province accounts for a majority of all new COVID-19 cases found in South Africa, with hospitals filling up at an alarming rate. It’s no surprise that Ramaphosa tightened the lockdown laws this evening – even though the government had previously ruled out reintroducing ‘localised restrictions’.
Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane warned on Saturday that the high infection rate witnessed in Gauteng is likely to spread into other provinces. As it stands, SA is facing one of the most perilous moments of this entire pandemic. A variant as easily spread as this one – when there’s little vaccine coverage – can have a devastating impact.
Lockdown rules for Gauteng revealed by Ramaphosa
That’s why Cyril Ramaphosa has had to act decisively – if not a little behind schedule. Gauteng is going to have a tougher lockdown than the rest of us, but there will be several knock-on effects felt across the country. Here are the restrictions that the densely populated province will now have to operate under…
- – Leisure travel in and out of Gauteng has been strictly forbidden.
- – Work, business, and commercial travel is excluded from this ban, however.
- – People currently not in their residences are also allowed to enter or leave Gauteng, solely so they can return home.
- – Visits to care homes and other congregant settings will be outlawed.
- – ALL rules announced by Cyril Ramaphosa this evening also apply to Gauteng.
