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Herald Reporter
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has today announced the easing of restrictions on restaurants for sit-down meals, accredited and licensed accommodation, conferences and meeting for business purposes, cinemas and theatres.
Addressing the nation on developments in SA’s risk-adjusted strategy to manage the spread of Covid-19, president Ramaphosa said casinos, personal care services, such as hairdressers and beauty services, would also be opened for business.
The address follows a number of meetings of the cabinet, the national coronavirus command council and the presidential co-ordinating council.
South Africa publication, TimesLive today reported that non-contact sports such as golf, cricket and tennis would also be permitted.
President Ramaphosa said a date for commencement of these eased restrictions was yet to be announced.
He said the easing of these sectors came after the South African government promised to look at ways to help more business sectors open up amid the lockdown as these industries employed more than half a million people.
He said government had to make this decision because of the people who are employed in these industries and those who depended on the people employed in those industries.
President Ramaphosa stressed that the Covid-19, that had forced the closure of key sectors in the country, had severely impacted the country. These include large companies with many thousands of employees and many more smaller companies with just a handful of employees.
“This means that there are businesses that have not earned any revenue and individuals who have not had any income for over 80 days.
“Even with the measures we put in place to support companies, employees and poor households as part of the R500 billion relief package, there is a limit to how long these businesses can be closed.
“When I announced that the country would be moving to alert level 3 from the 1st of June, I said that we would be giving consideration to re-opening other sectors of the economy if the necessary safety precautions could be put in place and maintained,” he said.
He said specific and stringent safety requirements had been agreed on and will need to be put in place before a business can re-open, and protocols will need to be strictly adhered to for businesses to remain open.
“Announcements will be made in due course to detail these measures and indicate the date from which these activities will be permitted. We have taken this decision with due care and seriousness, appreciating the risks associated with each activity and the measures needed to manage those risks,” he said.
Online Reporter