CAPE TOWN- Ministers have announced the relaxing of a number of lockdown regulations, including the permitting of spaza shops to remain open and informal food traders to operate with permits.
The Coronavirus National Command Council addressed the revised lockdown regulations on Thursday night.
"We have learnt some lessons this past week of the lockdown," said Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
All spaza shops are allowed to stay open and informal food traders can operate with permits obtained from a counselor.
On the matter of travelling to funerals, Dlamini-Zuma clarified that funerals are not permitted to have more than 50 people in attendance. Undertakers and grave diggers are excluded in the 50-person limit.
Only biological relatives, relatives or persons closely affiliated to the deceased may obtain a permit to travel over provincial lines to attend funerals.
Speaking on behalf of Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, Dlamini-Zuma said that taxis are allowed to be 70% full and masks are encouraged. Taxi's were previously only allowed to be 50% full.
According to the updated lockdown regulations it is now compulsory for medical staff to take down the details of patients, such as their names, ID numbers and contact details. This is to make it easier to trace people after tests are done.
The Health Department is now allowed to trace the cell phones of people who have been confirmed to have Covid-19.
Speaking on the issue of contact tracing of those who have tested positive for Covid-19, "this is not to spy on anyone" said Minister of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
"In a situation like this, our individual rights do not supersede the country's rights. We are not intercepting calls, we are only accessing geolocations," said Ndabeni-Abrahams.
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