The move to Level 2 lockdown, introduced by President Cyril Ramphosa in an address to the nation on Sunday, September 12, will make it easier for the leisure and business tourism sectors, as well as the hospitality industry, to do business.
The new regulations, effective from midnight last night, are:
- Curfew starts at 23h00 and ends at 04h00.
- Non-essential establishments like restaurants, bars and fitness centres must close by 22h00. This is to allow their employees and patrons to travel home before the start of the curfew.
- Gatherings are limited to a maximum of 250 people indoors and 500 people outdoors. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used. This includes religious services, political events and social gatherings, as well as restaurants, bars, taverns and similar places.
- The sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption is permitted between 10h00 and 18h00 from Monday to Friday.
Alcohol sales for on-site consumption are permitted as per licence conditions, up to 22h00. - Alcohol consumption remains prohibited in public spaces.
These measures will be reviewed in two weeks’ time, depending on the state of the pandemic.
He said a total of 14,6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in South Africa to date and over seven million people have been vaccinated. He emphasised the need for vaccinations noting that Government had taken steps to make it easier for people to access vaccination sites wherever they are.
“We now have more than 3 000 public and private vaccination sites across the country, and most private sites will vaccinate any member of the public for free whether you have health insurance or not,” said Ramaphosa.
He added: “The sooner we are vaccinated, the sooner we can welcome tourists.”
