On Monday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation giving an update on how the vaccine roll out will work and on the status of COVID-19 in the country.
In his address, the President noted that we have recorded our lowest daily infection rate since the peak of the second wave in December. He said that this was an indication that we have now passed the peak of the second wave.
He went on to say that the country would now be moving to an adjusted level 3 and that certain restrictions, including those that were imposed on the sale of alcohol, would be eased.
"Over the last few days we have assessed the state of the pandemic, we have sought the advice of our experts and consulted with representatives of the provincial local governments as well as our traditional leaders," he said.
"With a clear decline in hospital admissions and deaths, cabinet has decided to steadily ease a number of restrictions under adjusted level 3."
- The curfew will now be from 11pm to 4am.
- Faith-based gatherings will now be permitted subject to health protocols; such gatherings may not exceed 50 people for indoor venues and 100 people for outdoor venues. If the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers within appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50% of the venue's capacity may be used.
- Public places such as beaches, dams, rivers, parks and public swimming pools will be reopened subject to health protocols.
- The sale of alcohol by licensed premises for offsite consumption will be permitted from Mondays to Thursdays from 10am to 6pm.
- Duty-free shops, registered wineries, wine farms, micro-breweries, and distilleries will be able to sell alcohol for offsite consumption during their normal licensed operating hours.
- The sale of alcohol by licensed premises for onsite consumption such as restaurants and taverns and so on, will be permitted throughout the week from 10am to 10pm.
"These changes have been made possible by the significant reduction in COVID-19 hospital admissions across all provinces, reducing the pressure on beds and hospital personnel," President Ramaphosa said.
"I want to call on all of us to drink responsibly so that we do not experience a spike in trauma cases or an increase in infections due to reckless behaviour."
