On 24 May, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation and announced that the Cabinet has decided to move the entire country from lockdown alert level 4 to level 3 on 01 June. This will be the biggest shift towards “some kind of normal” South Africans have seen since the hard lockdown was announced in March of this year. Ramaphosa did, however, acknowledge that some COVID-19 “hotspots”, being amongst other, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni and Ethekwini, to name a few, would possibly remain at alert level 4. It seems that this will however not be the case as the Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma confirmed on 28 May that the whole country will, in fact, ease its lockdown restrictions. The so-called corona hotspots will most likely see more stringent movement restrictions compared to other parts of the country.
The government continues to emphasize the need to prevent contact between people and reduce the spread of the virus through preventative measures. This requires that employers conduct regular screening of employees, take temperatures, and incrementally ease employees back to the workplace while continuing to allow those who are able to, work from home. Ramaphosa said that simple hygiene practices, such as the regular washing of hands, wearing a face mask, keeping at least a 1.5-metre distance from other people, avoiding touching the face with unwashed hands, and cleaning surfaces regularly, were the most effective defence against the coronavirus.
Therefore, the government has through its ministers, announced that most sectors and public servants will be called back to work during level 3. All manufacturing, mining, construction, financial services, professional and business services, information technology, communications, retailers, government services and media services will be allowed to fully reopen from the 1st of June, subject to strict hygiene measures. Alcohol will be available for purchase on Mondays to Thursdays from 09:00 to 17:00, either through collection or e-commerce sales and fast food businesses will also be allowed to have clients collect orders at their premises. Despite this, Ramaphosa continues to encourage the country to work from home, especially people over the age of 60 and those with pre-existing conditions.
As for educational institutions, Grade 7’s and Grade 12’s will return to school on the 1st of June, but parents may choose to send their children to school, alternatively, continue with home-schooling. Universities will similarly proceed to ease in its pupils, however, final regulations have yet to be gazetted. Strict infection control measures and, where necessary, additional water and sanitation infrastructures are being put in place to enable physical distancing, regular hand washing and learner safety at schools.
The easing in of the educational sector will however not be all smooth sailing as there is currently an urgent application in the pipeline, in which the Educators Union of South Africa will challenge the Department of Basic Education’s plans to reopen schools.
At this stage, all public spaces where cultural, sporting, entertainment, recreation, exhibition, organisational or similar activities take place, will remain closed. This includes restaurants, bars and taverns, except for the delivery or collection of food, as well as hotels and other accommodation for leisure. Interprovincial travel, gatherings of people, other than a limit of 50 people at funerals, attendance of gyms and fitness centres, opening of hair and beauty salons, and the sale of tobacco products, will furthermore remain prohibited until further notice.
Throughout this week, there has been a sense that government is in a bit of a scramble to grant more freedom to its people, in order to prevent further conflict emanating from frustrated South Africans who are forced to live from hand to mouth. This is indicated by Minister Ebrahim Patel’s address on the 28th of May, wherein he acknowledges the fact that the government expects over 8 million additional workers will return to work. Only time will tell how effective the past 62 days of lockdown has truly been for the country, but for now, most South Africans will be able to breathe a sigh of relief from the 1st of June and attempt to recover that which has been lost financially.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Janus Myburgh obtained his LLB degree at the North-West University in Potchefstroom. He is an admitted attorney and currently a legal advisor of SEESA Labour at Head Office in Pretoria.