Cyril Ramaphosa climate change South Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Photo: GCIS / Flickr

Goodbye Level 3? Ramaphosa will ‘make lockdown announcement soon’

The President has left us on a lockdown cliffhanger. During a Q&A session with SANEF, Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that an announcement on Level 3 ‘is coming’.

Cyril Ramaphosa climate change South Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Photo: GCIS / Flickr

Cyril Ramaphosa has given South Africans a glimmer of hope ahead of the weekend, by confirming that the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) will review our current lockdown restrictions ‘imminently’. SA is currently operating at the Adjusted Level 3 phase, but the President may be gathering us for another family meeting fairly soon.

Lockdown latest: President acknowledges ‘low COVID rates’

South Africa came into the new year under stricter Level 3 regulations. However – at the beginning of February – these rules were relaxed, allowing citizens to return to the beach and buy alcohol once more. Case numbers have declined rapidly since the second wave of COVID-19 reached its peak on 8 January; something Ramaphosa is keenly aware of.

The 68-year-old head of state acknowledged that the infection rate continues to tumble. Last week, multinational analysts Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) predicted that South Africa would be out of Level 3 ‘at some point in March’.

‘Expect announcements soon’: Will Ramaphosa ditch Level 3?

Their forecast, it seems, is firmly on course. While fielding questions from journalists at a SANEF event earlier today, Ramaphosa told the audience that restrictions will be ‘re-examined’ in the coming days – and that an announcement on the current lockdown phase ‘will be given soon’. Given the favourable data, this could pave the way for a shift to Level 2:

“Opting to keep the country under lockdown Level 3 is guided purely by science. Epidemiologists and geneticists are helping us with our policies. All decisions we make are based on well-tested information. Quite often, our scientists are ahead of the curve when compared to the rest of the world. Our Coronavirus Command Council still meets weekly.

“As we speak, the infection rate is coming down. It does require us to re-examine exactly where we are. Shortly, we will give an announcement on how we manage the pandemic going forward. In doing so, we must consider certain indicators. There are a lot of moving parts to consider, with the Easter season coming up – people will gather in large numbers.”

Cyril Ramaphosa