Staff Reporter
Restaurants, gyms and agricultural auctions have been given the green light to resume operations from tomorrow but South Africa will remain on Alert Level 4, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.
The new measures are expected to remain in place until July 25.
In a televised national address on Sunday night, Ramaphosa said these establishments are expected to observe strict COVID-19 protocols as cases have remained high across the country.
“Restaurants and eateries will be able to operate while observing strict health protocols,” he said.
“Such establishments may not accommodate more than 50 people at a time or, for smaller venues, more than 50 percent of their normal capacity.”
Gyms and fitness centres have been allowed to open and activities such as agricultural livestock and game auctions can also resume subject to the conditions outlined under the COVID-19 regulations.
The president said the country presently has over 200 000 active COVID-19 cases.
And in the last two weeks, over 4 200 people have lost their lives to the disease.
“As things stand now, infections remain extremely high. With the fast-spreading Delta variant, we are experiencing a third wave that is more severe than the first and second waves,” he pointed out.
“For the last two weeks, the country has consistently recorded an average of nearly 20 000 daily new cases.”
Gauteng accounts for more than half of the new infections but, according to Ramaphosa, infections are rapidly increasing in the Western Cape, Limpopo, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
“Our health system countrywide remains under pressure,” he said.
“By next week, daily hospital admissions across the country are likely to reach the levels observed during the peak of the first two waves.”
All social, political, religious and other gatherings remain prohibited.
The curfew remains in place from 9pm until 4am, and only those with permission will be allowed to leave their homes during this time.
The sale of alcohol remains prohibited, while schools will remain closed until July 26.
It remains mandatory to wear a mask that covers the nose and the mouth when in public.
To date, over 4.2 million people in South Africa have received a COVID-19 vaccine dose, with one million of these having been done over the past seven weekdays.
Close to 190 000 people are on average being vaccinated each weekday.
From Thursday, July 15 those over 35 years of age will be able to register on the Electronic Vaccination Data System.
Their vaccination is expected to start on August 1.