15/12/2020
South Africa is facing a second wave of COVID-19, last night President
Ramaphosa said that it is necessary to take extraordinary measures to save lives, while still protecting livelihoods.
The new restrictions include:
Stricter enforcement of existing level 1 lockdown restrictions β This includes that people in public buildings and public transport wear masks.
Gatherings β Gatherings will be further restricted to 100 people for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events. The total number of people in a venue may not exceed 50% of the capacity of the venue.
Funerals β All post-funeral gathering are prohibited across the country.
Beaches β Ramaphosa said that a differentiated approach will be used for the countryβs beaches and public parks. In areas with high coronavirus cases beaches and parks will be closed from 16 December to 3 January β this will apply to all of the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route.
Beaches will also be closed in KZN on days which are seen as particularly busy. These include 16 December, 26 December, 31 December, 1 January, 2 January, and 3 January. Beaches and public parks in the Western Cape and Northern Cape will remain open for now.
Evening β South Africaβs national curfew will be extended: 23h00 until 04h00. This means that non-essential establishments such as restaurants will have to close at 22h00 so that staff and patrons can go home before curfew. The curfew is in full effect on Christmas Eve and New Yearβs Eve.
Alcohol β The sale of alcohol will only be permitted from 10h00 β 18h00 from Monday to Thursday at retail outlets. Wine farms can remain open and sell alcohol for off-site consumption as per their licence hours.