President Cyril Ramaphosa admits to mistakes as changes will be made to current level 4 lockdown restrictions
Loading player...
President Cyril Ramaphosa says that most of the country will be placed on alert level 3 at the end of the may following a consultation process with stakeholders, but certain hotspots that have the highest rates of infection will remain on level 4. Mr Ramaphosa said there will also be changes to level 4 regulations to permit business activity in the retail space and ecommerce, and the restrictions on exercise will be reduced. He said there have been several projections about the possible path that the disease could have taken without "swift and decisive action" and that South Africa's statistics compares favourably to many other countries:
- Without the lockdown and other measures South Africa could have had 80,000 infections instead of the present;
- 219 people in South Africa have died; at a similar stage the United States recorded 22,000 deaths and 19,000 people died from Covid-19 in the United Kingdom;
- The level of infection in South Africa is 181 people per million compared to that of the UK, Spain, Italy and Singapore that have between 2,400 and 4,600 coronavirus cases per million people;
- Out of 12,074 confirmed cases, South Africa has 4,745 recoveries;
- There are nearly 25,000 additional beds available for quarantine;
- Substantial quantities of personal protective equipment have been procured for health workers; and
- 9 million people have been screened by field workers and 370,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted.
The President admitted that mistakes had been made and committed his cabinet to be transparent and to engage and consult with South Africans. - Linda van Tilburg
- Without the lockdown and other measures South Africa could have had 80,000 infections instead of the present;
- 219 people in South Africa have died; at a similar stage the United States recorded 22,000 deaths and 19,000 people died from Covid-19 in the United Kingdom;
- The level of infection in South Africa is 181 people per million compared to that of the UK, Spain, Italy and Singapore that have between 2,400 and 4,600 coronavirus cases per million people;
- Out of 12,074 confirmed cases, South Africa has 4,745 recoveries;
- There are nearly 25,000 additional beds available for quarantine;
- Substantial quantities of personal protective equipment have been procured for health workers; and
- 9 million people have been screened by field workers and 370,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted.
The President admitted that mistakes had been made and committed his cabinet to be transparent and to engage and consult with South Africans. - Linda van Tilburg
