Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says police officers and SANDF officials will continue conducting roadblocks with a focus on hot spot areas during level 3 of the national lockdown.
Mapisa-Nqakula was speaking at the justice, crime prevention and security cluster media briefing on Thursday outlying what the clusters work during level 3.
She said SAPS and SANDF officers would ensure that level 3 regulations were adhered to.
She said the following was prohibited under level 3 for in terms of legal matters:
- Inter-provincial travel was not permitted unless a person was travelling for work, funeral and medical services. These movements have to be motivated with access to a permit.
- No liquor licences will be issued during the national disaster declaration.
- Sale of liquor allowed within certain times and no consumption on site.
Mapisa-Nqakula said roadblocks would continue under level 3 and would be heightened on level 3.
The minister said over 70 000 SANDF soldiers had been deployed in various capacities across the country. She said the soldiers were deployed on various capacities including engineers who would assist with access to water. SANDF soldiers, nurse and doctors had been deployed across the country to assist the country's healthcare system.
More than 2 000 beds were identified at SANDF bases across the country to provide quarantine facilities with these were in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng.
Access to Home Affairs facilities will include:
- Access to the issuing of birth certificates
- Passports for work purposes
- Marriage certificate services
- IDs will also be issued. Asylum seekers who have expired permits will have them extended until the end of July
On courts - Mapisa-Nqakula said access to courts was limited. She said priority would be given to urgent matters which include corruption cases, murder, gender-based violence, violent crime and Covid-19 related offences.
Cases that were deemed not urgent would not be heard.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele said over 240 000 people had been arrested in contravention of lockdown regulations.
"Most of the people who had been arrested come from hot spot areas. The Western Cape (57 000 arrests) leads in people who have been arrested and Gauteng (47 000) comes second," Cele said.