President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday night, stating that South Africa is confronted by the gravest crisis in the history of our democracy.<\/p>\n
He said while South Africa has succeeded in delaying the spread of COVID-19, the storm is now upon us with 276,242 confirmed cases, a figure that is growing by over 12,000 new cases every day.<\/p>\n
While the country will stay at alert level 3, the government will strengthen the enforcement of existing regulations and take certain additional measures.<\/p>\n
One of these measures is stricter rules around the wearing of cloth masks, which will now be enforced through strengthened regulations.<\/p>\n
Employers, shop owners, public transport operators, and owners of public buildings are now legally obliged to ensure that anyone entering their premises or vehicle must be wearing a mask.<\/p>\n
The sale, dispensing, and distribution of alcohol have also been suspended with immediate effect and a curfew has been put in place between 21:00 and 04:00.<\/p>\n
Some of the current level restrictions were relaxed, which apply to taxis, auctions, and public parks.<\/p>\n
Taxis undertaking local trips will now be permitted to increase their capacity to 100%, while long-distance taxis will not be allowed to exceed 70% occupancy.<\/p>\n
All auctions will be permitted subject to protocols similar to those that currently apply to agricultural auctions.<\/p>\n
Parks will be open for exercise during the allowed hours, but not for any form of gathering.<\/p>\n
The restrictions on family visits and other social activities remain in place as they present too much of a risk to permit at this stage, Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
The table below provides an overview of the alert level 3 lockdown changes announced by Ramaphosa last night.<\/p>\n
Sale of Alcohol<\/strong><\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n| Old rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Sale of alcohol allowed between 09:00 and 17:00 from Monday to Thursday.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | New rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Sale, dispensing, and distribution of alcohol prohibited.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Penalty<\/strong><\/td>\n | A fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Curfew<\/strong><\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n | Old rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | No curfew.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | New rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Curfew between 21:00 and 04:00.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Penalty<\/strong><\/td>\n | A fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Wearing of Masks<\/strong><\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n | Old rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Wearing of masks encouraged.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | New rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Employers, shop owners, managers, and public transport operators now legally obliged to ensure that anyone entering their premises or vehicle must be wearing a mask.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Penalty<\/strong><\/td>\n | A fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Taxis<\/strong><\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n | Old rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Taxis were not allowed to exceed 70% occupancy.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | New rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Taxis undertaking local trips are now permitted to increase their capacity to 100%, while long-distance taxis will not be allowed to exceed 70% occupancy.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Penalty<\/strong><\/td>\n | A fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Auctions<\/strong><\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n | Old rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Only selected auctions were permitted.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | New rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | All auctions now permitted.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Penalty<\/strong><\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Parks<\/strong><\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n | Old rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Closed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | New rule<\/strong><\/td>\n | Parks now open for exercise, but not for any form of gathering.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Penalty<\/strong><\/td>\n | A fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n | Now read: New lockdown rules for South Africa \u2013 Alcohol banned with immediate effect<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" |
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