COVID-19 Council to meet on Monday to discuss National State of Disaster

A meeting between the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) is scheduled for Monday. The gathering will bring forth conversations regarding the regulations that accompany the COVID-19 National State of Disaster.

Adaptions of the National State of Disaster regulations

Changes relating to COVID-19, both expected and unexpected, have led to adaptations within the regulations based on the current risk of the virus at that given time. The National State of Disaster, as it currently stands, is subject to extension on a month to month basis. 

Recent information that has been shared gave individuals the expectation that the act would reach a conclusion on Tuesday, 8 March, as opposed to being reinstated yet again, EWN reported.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 measures with little protection should be scrapped, says Madhi

The NCC meeting was pushed forward to allow for strategising

News outlets reported that the original date of the scheduled meeting had been postponed. The gathering was originally planned to be held on Sunday, 13 March, but was pushed forward to Monday, 14 March. It was pushed forward to allow additional time for members to finalise strategies around the regulations. 

These regulations are set to be put in place following the termination of the State of Disaster.

Speculations arose from previous meetings that the Health Department would maintain that the National Disaster Management act was no longer in effect.

Appropriate authorities consequently had to redraft the regulations in place. The updated regulations, which are scheduled to be implemented at the State of Disasterr’s point of termination, placed authority with the entire cabinet as opposed to a single entity, minister or department.

Why the Health Dept says mask-wearing will remain… for now

With most of the COVID-19 restrictions essentially done away with, the focus is now on whether South Africans are ready to ditch mask-wearing.

Professor Salim Abdool Karim, who was at the forefront of Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic recently told eNCA that the wearing of masks and using sanitiser should no longer be necessary, particularly as the country prepares for life post-COVID-19.

“I don’t know what government’s plans are with removing masks but what we’ve seen from other countries is that we have reached a stage where we can change our overall strategy, we can remove most of our restrictions and public health measures at this point,” Karim told the broadcaster. Read the full story here.