Level 3 Lockdown from 1 June; limited alcohol sales, no ciggies - President Cyril Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country will be moved down to level 3 of the phased lifting of the lockdown on the 1st of June. The President said that the government is concerned about the number of Covid-19 cases in Cape Town and the Western Cape and if the spread of the virus is not contained in hotspots, which includes several places in the Western Cape, Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekhuruleni, Ethekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City; the areas could be pushed back to earlier levels of the lockdown. Hotspots will be reviewed every two weeks. One third of the 22,538 confirmed cases in South Africa have been recorded in the past week and the death toll from Covid-19 stands at 429 people. 842 patients are in hospital with 128 in ICU. He said South Africa must get used to living with the virus for some time to come as the country would not be able to stop it.
Ramaphosa also announced that:
- Wholesale and retail trade would be fully re-opened;
- Alcohol would be sold at certain times for home-consumption;
- Tobacco products will still not be sold;
- The opening of churches will be discussed in further consultations;
- Restaurant, bars, gyms will remain closed;
- People can now exercise at any time of the day;
- Public servants would be expected to go back to work;
- 20,000 hospital beds are being repurposed for Covid-19 cases;
- 27 field hospitals are being built; and
- The government is supporting and funding research several projects including a plan to locally manufacture coronavirus vaccines as soon as candidates are available. - Linda van Tilburg