Curfew, alcohol restrictions lifted heading into new year
The South African government has lifted the COVID-19 curfew with immediate effect.
This is as the cabinet has approved the implementation of a more relaxed Adjusted Alert level 1 lockdown following a meeting yesterday.
Minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele says the decision was made based on the trajectory of the pandemic, the level of vaccination and the preparedness of the health sector.
"The curfew will be lifted. There will therefore be no restriction on the hours lifted. There will therefore be no restrictions on the hours of movement of people."
"Gatherings are restricted to no more than 1 000 people indoors and no more than 2 000 people outdoors. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue may be used. All other restrictions remain in place.
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Indications suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave on a national level, which is driven by the Omicron variant. According to information by the Department of Health, a 29.7% drop in the number of new cases was detected during the Christmas week, compared to the week before.
Gungubele added that alcohol establishments that have licences to operate beyond 11 pm will revert back to full licence conditions. "
"The NCCC will continue to closely monitor the situation and will make further adjustments as necessary, particularly if pressure on health facilities increases."
He reminds the public that the wearing of masks in public places is still mandatory, and failure to wear a mask when required remains a criminal offence.
The country has recorded a total of 12 979 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. In a statement released, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases says the increase represents a 28.1% positivity rate.
A further 81 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing the total number of fatalities to 91 060. KZN recorded the highest amount of new cases - 3 461 followed by the Western Cape with 3 327 new cases.
