South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has decided to ease up the Lock-down of the Country to try and revive the fallen economy.
The total confirmed cases as of Thursday, April 23, 2020, stood at 3,953 people and 75 people had died.
Ramaphosa has embark on level method to describe how the Country will open up from lockdown:
This is how it will work:
we are currently at Level 5, the hard lockdown, and from May 1, we will move into Level 4, when limited activity will be allowed. Level 3 eases restrictions further, Level 2 loosens further and Level 1 is almost back to normal but not quite.
What does life and the economy look like at Level 4?
We will know for sure in the following days, but Level 4 will mean you can exercise (yay!) with restrictions and buy cigarettes. Schools will be reopened in phases.
From May 1, food retail stores will be able to open their full stores, and agriculture is being opened too (horticulture, wool and wine exports, floriculture and related processing). That sounds like flowers and booze.
Mines will open (open cast mines at 100% capacity, all others at 50%). Also opening will be financial and professional services, posts and telecoms, fibre optic and IT services, formal waste recycling as well as global business services for exports.
That’s quite a chunk of the economy, but there’s a proviso: only one-third of employees can return at any time to keep to the laws of physical distancing. “Businesses to be encouraged to adopt work from home [practices] where possible staff who can work remotely must be allowed to do so,” said Ramaphosa.
Beyond that, life’s still not a party and you still can’t go anywhere.
At Level 4, the borders stay closed and there is still no travel between provinces allowed. Transport will be limited.
“The public is encouraged to stay home,” said Ramaphosa, who added the caveat that some exercise will be allowed.
Mines will open (open cast mines at 100% capacity, all others at 50%). Also opening will be financial and professional services, posts and telecoms, fibre optic and IT services, formal waste recycling as well as global business services for exports.
That’s quite a chunk of the economy, but there’s a proviso: only one-third of employees can return at any time to keep to the laws of physical distancing. “Businesses to be encouraged to adopt work from home [practices] where possible staff who can work remotely must be allowed to do so,” said Ramaphosa.
Beyond that, life’s still not a party and you still can’t go anywhere.
At Level 4, the borders stay closed and there is still no travel between provinces allowed. Transport will be limited.
“The public is encouraged to stay home,” said Ramaphosa, who added the caveat that some exercise will be allowed.
All gatherings are still prohibited (except for funerals which will be monitored more closely), and that means no restaurants, cafés, shebeens, hotels, events, sports, conferences, theatre or anything that gives colour to life. The elderly are advised to stay at home as are those who are at particular risk from Covid-19 (diabetics, people with cancer or respiratory ailments).
“There will be a gradual and phased recovery of economic activity. [This is a] risk-adjusted strategy through which we take a deliberate and cautious approach,” said Ramaphosa.
“Abrupt uncontrolled action will cause a massive resurgence of infections. It risks a spread [of a second wave of infections] and another hard lockdown [Level 5, which we are now at].”
4/24/2020 - 7:22am“There will be a gradual and phased recovery of economic activity. [This is a] risk-adjusted strategy through which we take a deliberate and cautious approach,” said Ramaphosa.
“Abrupt uncontrolled action will cause a massive resurgence of infections. It risks a spread [of a second wave of infections] and another hard lockdown [Level 5, which we are now at].”
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