Cape Town - A continued decline in the number of Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths has prompted the government to once again ease restrictions on movement, gatherings, and curfew.
President Cyril Ramaphosha addressed South Africans in a televised address last night to give an update on the latest developments in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This followed the government meeting, in recent days, with the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Co-ordinating Council and Cabinet.
With Alert Level 1, the curfew is now moved to 12 midnight to 4am; religious, social, political and cultural gatherings will be permitted, however are subject to limitations on size and adherence to Covid-19 protocol.
“The maximum number of people allowed at any gathering is 100 people indoors or 250 people outdoors,” said Ramaphosa.
Night vigils or other gatherings before or after funerals will not be permitted and nightclubs will remain closed.
The sale of alcohol would be permitted, according to normal licence provisions. However, no alcohol should be sold during the hours of curfew, said Ramaphosa.
The country is preparing to launch Phase 2 of its Covid-19 vaccination programme in late April or early May, where the elderly, those with comorbidities, and those in congregate settings will be prioritised.
Since the country began vaccination 10 days ago, over 67 000 health care workers on the frontlines had been vaccinated, said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa said an agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to secure 11 million doses had been signed.
“Of these doses, 2.8 million doses will be delivered in the second quarter and the rest spread throughout the year. We have also secured 20 million doses from Pfizer, which will be delivered from the second quarter. Additionally, we have secured 12 million vaccine doses from the COVAX facility and are in the process of finalising our dose allocation from the African Union.”
The country received its second consignment of 80 000 doses of the J&J single-dose vaccine on Saturday.
According to the Western Cape Government Covid-19 dashboard, the province recorded 3 801 active cases of Covid-19, 275 366 confirmed cases and 260 404 recoveries made as of 1pm on Sunday.
To date, 11 161 people have succumbed to the virus. Around 133 403 Covid-19 tests have been conducted.
The district with the highest number of cases remains Tygerberg, followed by the Southern, Western, Eastern and then Northern districts.
Cape Argus