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Cabinet meeting, March 2019 – Photo: GCIS/Flickr

NCCC to ‘extend Level 4 lockdown further’ this weekend

Level 4 regulations are set for a substantial extension this weekend, and the emergency laws must be reviewed before Sunday 11 July.

Worst performing ministers performance targets

Cabinet meeting, March 2019 – Photo: GCIS/Flickr

South Africa’s National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) is set to meet before Sunday 11 July, as they come to a final decision on extending the country’s Level 4 lockdown regulations. The news, however, isn’t likely to be positive.

Will Level 4 laws be extended?

COVID-19 cases still remain at a very high level in South Africa, and Gauteng in particular. New infections remain at their peak, meaning that hospitals are still facing a battle to treat every patient admitted to the emergency wards. When Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation 10 days ago, he was hoping that the situation would’ve eased off by now.

It hasn’t, and that means an extension of Level 4 restrictions is now inevitable. The harder form of lockdown was put in place for two weeks, but much like our State of Disaster Regulations, they are likely to be rolled over once again this month. The third wave has, by some margin, been the most ferocious of the virus surges experienced in SA.

Will there be any changes to the rules?

Case numbers have reached record numbers, with hospitalisations and deaths also heading on an upwards trajectory. The Western Cape and several other provinces are next in line to experience a ‘Gauteng-like scenario’, as more Delta variant cases continue to surface in Mzansi.

Although tougher measures aren’t thought to be on the cards, there will be an issue regarding schools. Children are set to return to the classroom on 19 July, but there are already calls to push that date back as COVID-19 continues to rip through South Africa. Teaching unions feel that bringing learners back to school at this point would be a ‘dangerous move’.

An announcement will be made over the weekend, instructing South Africans about the next phase of Level 4 lockdown. It may not warrant a family meeting, but nonetheless, it would be a novelty to hear from President Ramaphosa this week