Staff Reporter
South Africa will be opening up more industries as the country seeks to strike a balance between containing the spread of the deadly coronavirus and allowing more economic activity following months of national lockdown.
In a televised address Wednesday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government has decided to ease restrictions on more economic activities.
The measures include allowing sit-down meals in restaurants as well as opening accredited and licensed accommodation with the exception of home sharing accommodation like AirBnB.
Conferences and meetings for business purposes will also be allowed together with cinemas and theatres but they will be expected to follow restrictions on public gatherings.
Personal care services, including hairdressers and beauty services, non-contact sports such as golf, tennis, cricket and others will be allowed to resume on a date to be announced.
Contact sports will however be allowed only for training and modified activities with restricted use of facilities.
“In each instance, specific and stringent safety requirements have been agreed on and will need to be put in place before a business can re-open, and protocols will need to be strictly adhered to for businesses to remain open,” said Ramaphosa.
“We have taken this decision with due care and seriousness, appreciating the risks associated with each activity and the measures needed to manage those risks,” he added.
Ramaphosa said before the lockdown, these industries employed over 500 000 people and it was important to consider the plight of those workers and those who depend on them for their livelihoods.
He said through the easing of the lockdown, the government was continuously trying to balance between saving lives and preserving livelihoods.
“The coronavirus pandemic is not only a global health crisis. It is also a global economic crisis of ever-increasing proportion. No country, no industry and no person is unaffected. Here in South Africa, the pandemic has severely disrupted the livelihoods of millions of people,” the president said.
“As you are aware many businesses that stopped operating on the 27th of March, when the lockdown came into effect, have not yet been able to re-open under current restrictions . . . this means that there are businesses that have not earned any revenue and individuals who have not had any income for over 80 days.”
He said even with the measures put in place to support companies, employees and poor households as part of the R500 billion relief package, there is a limit to how long the businesses can be closed.