President Cyril Ramaphosa last night announced that South Africa would embark on a phased reopening of the economy.
The national lockdown is slated to end on 30 April, but the phased reopening could prolong elements of the lockdown.
He indicated that more details would be provided when he addressed the country again tomorrow.
‘As I have said previously, if we end the lockdown too soon or too abruptly, we risk a massive and uncontrollable resurgence of the disease.’
The phased reopening would be guided by scientific evidence.
Ramaphosa said: ‘We will follow a risk-adjusted approach to the return of economic activity, balancing the continued need to limit the spread of the coronavirus with the need to get people back to work.’
There was a ‘need to act with agility and flexibility in the weeks and months ahead, and respond to the situation as it develops’.
Ramaphosa announced an extensive R500bn economic and social relief support package.
This would include the prioritisation of around R130 billion within the country’s current budget, with the remainder of the funds being raised from local sources such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and from global partners and international finance institutions.
His announcements came as positive cases in South Africa rose to 3 465, with deaths unchanged at 58. There have been 1 055 recoveries, and 126 937 tests.
With protests and looting continuing as hunger in impoverished communities mounted, a group of more than two dozen doctors – from general practitioners, psychiatrists and researchers to surgeons, all medical graduates from the University of Cape Town’s 1993 class – endorsed a letter which warned of ‘far greater harm to our healthcare system and our economy by further delaying the inevitable spread of the virus. The ongoing “hard lockdown” will likely cause far greater suffering in the short and long term than the pandemic itself’.
Fin24 reported that Eskom had sent precautionary force majeure notices to all its coal suppliers, notifying them of the possibility that it may ask them to curtail supply as a result of lower demand since the start of the national lockdown.
Force majeure is a clause exempting companies from fulfilling contractual obligations in cases of unforeseen disruption beyond their control.
While, incomprehensibly to most South Africans, Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said lifting the ban on cigarette sales would undermine the essence of the lockdown completely, the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association said it had been left with no choice but to take government to court after failed attempts to negotiate.
Spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Mnguni said: ‘We have over the course of three weeks attempted to engage government and have been given some form of run-around. We ultimately elected to take this step, which is admittedly drastic, but we felt that we had no further alternative.’
In other virus-related news
- As many countries sought to end, or ease, lockdowns, the World Health Organization warned that this should be a gradual process, fearing that premature easing of restrictions could lead to a surge of new infections;
- The BBC reported that Oxford University researchers would begin human trials of a potential vaccine this week, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Britain reported 823 more coronavirus deaths in hospitals, following a post-weekend dip in Monday’s figures;
- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that by the weekend he would detail steps the country would take to gradually loosen restrictions, and reopen the economy. Italy, which has declared more coronavirus deaths than any other European country, has been under national quarantine since 9 March;
- Germany’s Oktoberfest beer festival has been cancelled because ‘risks are too high’, according to Bavarian state premier Markus Soeder;
- The BBC reported that Hong Kong had reduced growth of confirmed cases to single digits in recent days. Chief executive Carrie Lam said social distancing measures and some business restrictions would continue for another two weeks until at least 7 May; and
- Indonesia imposed a ban on the annual exodus to hometowns and ancestral villages after Ramadan.