Why South Africa still allows huge 750-person indoor gatherings
The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) will hold a meeting in the coming week to decide on gatherings in light of the current Covid-19 wave.
The Department of Health held a Covid-19 update meeting on Friday, 17 December 2021, to inform the public of recent infection and hospitalisation statistics.
South Africa will remain on adjusted level one lockdown for the time being.
“The NCCC felt that we needed to study the situation further looking at, of course, the rapid rise in infection rates but balancing that with the fact that in proportion few people were needing hospital admission,” health minister Joe Phaahla said.
Phaahla said that the NCCC’s meeting to decide whether government would restrict gatherings in line with previous lockdown regulations should happen early next week — 20 or 21 December.
“The information which we are sharing with the public currently gets regularly updated. Possibly we might have another session of the NCCC next week Monday or Tuesday,” he said.
“Possibly Tuesday,” he added.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an increase in the maximum number of people allowed at indoor and outdoor gatherings in September.
Ramaphosa announced the change, together with a move to an adjusted level one lockdown, while political parties were campaigning ahead of the 1 November local government elections.
The changes he announced included:
- Indoor gatherings increased from a maximum of 200 to 750 people.
- Outdoor gatherings increased from a maximum of 500 to 2,000 people.
Following the meeting next week, Phaahla said the NCCC would update the public on South Africa’s lockdown restrictions.
“We will then provide an update in terms of the patterns of what we are seeing, the pressure on the hospitals, the rise in numbers, the effects in terms of society and behaviour, the risks in terms of safety,” Phaahla said.
“All those factors will then be compiled and recommendations given to the NCCC, and it will be up to the committee on what recommendations to make to Cabinet for a final decision,” he said.
The omicron variant of Covid-19 was discovered in late November 2021, when scientists found it spreading primarily in Tshwane among university students.
Since its identification, the variant has spread throughout the country, with South Africa reporting a record 26,976 case increase in infections on 15 December.
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