South Africans will have to adhere to a new set of rules handed down by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday, 27 June if they want to curb the spread of coronavirus. There were more than 15 000 active cases reported on Sunday, which is great cause for concern.
Movement has been restricted once again and several industries have been closed amid a spike in cases during the third wave.
Among these restrictions, the following places will be closed:
Leisure travel is permitted within one’s own province – unless you live in Gauteng – all leisure travel has been banned there for the next two weeks. Only business travel will be permitted in Gauteng, and you will need to produce the usual documentation to prove you are traveling for work purposes.
If you do travel for leisure within the next two weeks, take into consideration that no restaurants will be able to serve you outside of takeaways. This serves as a good opportunity to keep the industry going by supporting local businesses if you are able to.
Restaurant owners have quickly reverted to smaller takeaway menus to keep their businesses going. No alcohol is permitted to be sold or transported for the next two weeks either. Even if you do travel locally, you cannot take alcohol with you.
The beach and parks are open to South Africans but social gathering is not permitted within these open spaces.
According to The South African, the Delta Variant that is dominating the third wave in South Africa spreads more easily.
- According to health experts, the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads more easily because of mutations that make it better at latching onto cells in our bodies.
- It has been detected in five provinces: the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape.
- It is RAPIDLY displacing the Beta variant (the variant discovered in the Eastern Cape and had contributed to the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases under the second wave)
- The Delta variant is believed to be twice as contagious as the Beta variant.
- People who were previously infected with the Beta variant do not have full protection against the Delta variant, and may get re-infected.
- Infections among children are more common with the Delta variant, as opposed to the Beta variant.
- For now, data suggests that the Delta variant is not more severe.
You can download the full Government Gazette here.
