South Africans begin the second phase of the lockdown today under slightly altered regulations, but growing economic pressures.
Co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced some amendments to the rules, but said most existing regulations would remain in place.
Some additional categories of business activity – including some mines – have been opened. But, as incomes run out, people are running out of food.
The Western Cape government said it had received 14 500 calls to its own helpline from people who were going hungry during the lockdown. It called on the SA Social Security Agency to reopen some of its offices. There were also food protests in the city this week.
Provincial Premier Alan Winde said: ‘With the expansion or the extension of an extra two weeks of the lockdown, we are starting to see pressures now coming specifically around nutrition.’
The government said the country could anticipate further relaxation of lockdown conditions over the next weeks, to allow industries to ‘come slowly on stream’ as part of an ‘orderly way of easing the lockdown’.
Postive cases in South Africa rose to 2 605, and deaths to 48. Limpopo and the Eastern Cape recorded their first deaths. There have 903 recoveries. So far, 95 060 South Africans have been tested.
In other virus-related news
- The Financial Times reported that 5.25 million more Americans had filed jobless claims. Since mid-March, the US economy had shed more than 20 million jobs, the worst on record;
- A $350 billion US rescue fund for small businesses has run out of cash;
- New York’s lockdown measures are to be extended until 15 May; and
- Britain’s lockdown measures are being extended for at least three more weeks, according to Secretary of State Dominic Raab.