South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the closure of some of the country’s most popular holiday beaches and increased enforcement of regulations as part of heightened restrictions to combat the worsening second wave of coronavirus infections.
“Given the rate at which new cases have grown over the last two weeks, there is every possibility that if we do not act urgently and if we do not act together, the second wave will be more severe than the first wave,” Ramaphosa said in a televised broadcast Monday evening.
COVID-19 infections in South Africa have doubled to 8,000 daily in the past 10 days, which the President said is “a cause for great concern.”
“The daily average of COVID-19 deaths has increased by nearly 50 percent over the same period, from just over 100 deaths a day to just over 150 deaths.
“For the first time in this pandemic, most of the new infections are among young people, particularly those in the age group of 15 to 19 years,” Ramaphosa said.
He cited the lack of protocols at large gatherings and parties as being the largest source of coronavirus infections.
“The festive season now poses the greatest threat to the health and well-being of our nation. It poses the greatest threat also to the recovery of our economy. This is because the festive season is traditionally a time of gatherings, of travel, of meeting friends and family, and of relaxing after a difficult and stressful year,” the President said.
He warned that “unless we do things differently, this will be the last Christmas for many, many South Africans”.
“If we do not do things differently this festive season, we will greet the new year not with joy, but with sorrow. Many of our friends, relatives and co-workers will be infected, some will get severely ill and some, tragically, will die.”
The President said there would be stricter enforcement of existing alert level 1 restrictions throughout the country during the festive season and beyond, placing the responsibility for observing non-pharmaceutical interventions such as wearing face masks, social distancing and sanitising squarely on public transport owners, and managers of buildings and stores.
“Secondly, we are taking measures to reduce the risk of super-spreading events (because) the current restrictions on the size of gatherings do not do enough to prevent crowding in the current situation where new cases are rising rapidly.
“One of the greatest challenges we need to confront are the huge crowds that flock to beaches and recreational parks on public holidays over the festive season,” Ramaphosa said.
There has been an agreement on a differentiated approach, in terms of which in the areas with the highest rate of infection. Beaches and public parks will be closed for the duration of the festive season from December 16 to January 3, he said.
“This will apply to all of the Eastern Cape (province), as well as to the Garden Route district in the Western Cape (province).
“In KwaZulu-Natal (province), beaches and public parks will be closed on what are traditionally the busiest days of the season. These days are the 16th, 25th, 26th and 31st of December 2020 and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January 2021,” the President said.
Festivals, live music, live performances and alcohol at beaches are now prohibited. Those beaches that are allowed to remain open will only allow access between 9 am and 6 pm, he said.
Ramaphosa said to reduce the burden on healthcare services due to irresponsible alcohol consumption, the hours of the curfew will be longer, starting at 11 pm and ending at 4 am.
This would include traditional parties which previously went on well into the early hours of the morning on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, he added.
Ramaphosa said the festive season restrictions would be reviewed in early January based on the state of the pandemic across the country.
“Unless we act responsibly now, unless we adhere at all times to the basic precautions that we all know, we will face a bleak new year,” he said.
