Photo: Flickr / GCIS
Photo: Flickr / GCIS
It’s been more than ten weeks since our last shift in alert phases; and now, South Africa will move into Level 2 of lockdown restrictions. The new changes allow greater personal freedoms, and they will serve to open-up our battered economy. President Cyril Ramaphosa shared the news during his address to the nation on Saturday evening.
The changes are effective from midnight on Monday – which, by the government’s definition, is 00:01 on Tuesday 18 December
When will South Africa move to Level 2 regulations?
Giving us all something to cheer this weekend, our head of state revealed that our lockdown regulations will be relaxed ‘significantly’ as we go forward. Business officials and scientific experts had both implored the president to implement Level 2 guidelines over the past few days, and Ramaphosa has heeded the advice.
Although many things still remain off-limits, the move is a significant one for the country: A vast majority of workplaces can now scale-up their operations, and the economic outlook for Level 2 paints a rosier picture than the dire situation we are facing now. The true cost of COVID-19 could eventually run-up a trillion-rand bill.
Cyril Ramaphosa on our ‘next lockdown step’
After extending the State of Disaster laws for an extra month earlier in the day, Ramaphosa praised South Africans for their diligence and compliance during a very rough winter. The disease had reached a peak in July, with infections reaching almost 14 000 people each day. The surge has since subsided, and although we must ‘walk before we can run’, this positive news has been long overdue.
Mzansi is almost five months into its lockdown journey – and it is arguable that this has been one of the most welcome developments since late March. Things may seem a little more normal from this point onwards, but the world is now a very different place to what it was at the start of the year – even as we enter Level 2.
Moving to Level 2: What are the major changes to lockdown regulations?
- All restrictions on inter-provincial travel will be lifted.
- All accommodation venues will be allowed to open.
- Bars and taverns will be allowed to open.
- Alcohol and cigarette bans are lifted
- Alcohol can only be served until 22:00 on licensed premises, liquor stores may only open Monday – Thursday, from 9:00 – 17:00
- Family visits are allowed, as long as the visits are necessary and observe social distancing rules.
- Masks must be worn in public, the borders remain closed, gatherings of 50+ people are also forbidden. Spectators cannot attend sporting events and the curfew is in place from 22:00 – 4:00.
- Gyms and fitness centers now have permission to reopen.
- You can visit beaches and parks, too.
