Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa is delivering a televised address on Wednesday evening to update South Africans on the government's plans regarding the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.
"President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation at 20h30 this evening... on South Africa's ongoing measures to manage the spread of the coronavirus through the implementation of a risk adjusted strategy," the presidency said.
It will be Ramaphosa's first address to the country in nearly three weeks.
He has come under increasing pressure in recent days to inform the nation when lockdown restrictions will be further eased and to provide more detail on the government's modelling on the spread of the virus.
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The official opposition Democratic Alliance has urged Ramaphosa to end the lockdown and reopen the economy, with extensive safety measures in place to protect workers and the rest of the public.
The party said the lockdown regulations had acquired an overtly political overtone and the confinement restrictions had largely outlived their purpose in slowing the spread of transmission while the health system braces for higher numbers of infections.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said this week that the sooner the restrictions were eased from the current level 4 to level 3, the better. It is also demanding the sanitisation of workplaces and public transport, as well as greater community health efforts.
Cosatu is in favour of placing different parts of the country on different levels of restrictions, based on the severity of the outbreak in a particular area.
* For the latest on the Covid-19 outbreak, visit IOL's special #Coronavirus page.
** If you think you have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus, please call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 029 999 or visit sacoronavirus.co.za