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Sorry, no alcohol will be sold while we’re on alert level 4.

You can buy cigarettes from next Friday, though, so small mercies.

Last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation, and laid out a risk-adjusted strategy to ease the current lockdown restrictions, which end at 11:59PM on Thursday, April 30.

(If you came looking for some Cyril face mask memes, head here.)

A heads up that the next day, Friday, May 1, is a public holiday, so maybe it’s worth staying up to pop a few bottles that you bartered with the neighbours.

Anyway, Ramaphosa’s announcement seemed to closely resemble the leaked document that did the rounds on Wednesday and yesterday, especially when it came to the five alert levels used to measure risk.

Before we start, let’s see those five again, via News24:

We are currently on alert level 5. From May 1, South Africa will move to alert level 4 – here’s what that looks like, again from News24:

 Borders will remain closed to international travel, except for the repatriation of South African nationals and foreign citizens.

No travel will be allowed between provinces, except for the transportation of goods and exceptional circumstances such as funerals.

All gatherings, apart from funerals and for work, will remain prohibited.

Some businesses will be allowed to resume operations under specific conditions. (These sectors are still to be announced.)

The public is encouraged to stay at home, other than for essential personal movement, doing essential work and work in sectors that are under controlled openings.

The elderly, and those with underlying conditions, must remain at home and take additional precautions to isolate themselves.

People can exercise under strict public health conditions. (These conditions have still not been announced.)

The sale of cigarettes will be permitted.

Public transportation will continue to operate, with limitations on the number of passengers and stringent hygiene requirements, including that all passengers must wear face masks.

The range of goods that may be sold will be extended to incorporate certain additional categories. (These must still be detailed by the relevant ministers.)

That last one is important, because many of the exact details remain unknown at this stage, and the relevant ministers will still need to spell things out in various briefings over the next few days.

UPDATE: This via News24:

The Minister of COGTA, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Ebrahim Patel, will provide a detailed briefing on the classification of industries as part of the risk adjusted strategy on re-opening the economy as announced by President Ramaphosa.

The briefing will serve as the official launch of the Risk Adjusted Strategy for public comment and consultation.

This briefing is scheduled for Saturday, 25 April 2020 at 10AM.

The leaked document that did the rounds on Wednesday evening, which government said was not final and had been adjusted, stated that alcohol sales within restricted trading hours would be allowed during alert level 3.

It is unclear, at this stage, whether or not that is still the case, and should be made clearer during ministerial briefings.

With regards to domestic work, the same leaked document suggests that may only resume once alert level 2 is reached, although confirmation will be needed on that front.

Also, because we’re all suddenly joggers now that we’re not allowed outside, let’s stress one thing Ramaphosa made clear in his address last night – people can exercise under strict public health conditions, which have not yet been announced.

Please, please, please (I’m asking on behalf of the whole country here), can Bheki Cele and Fikile Mbalula not be allowed to flex their egos during these briefings? Just give us the basics, field some questions from journalists, answer those, and then move along.

With regards to how the alert level works, this is a good place to start:

On this front, we can only hope for transparency in government decision-making, so that we’re not left with a farcical situation similar to load shedding, where things can go from stage one through to stage five in a matter of hours.

Whilst some businesses will be waiting for clarity on if and when they can open, the government has made it clear that other restrictions remain in place after the national lockdown, regardless of the level of alert at any given time.

Via IOL, these include:

• Sit-in restaurants and hotels
• Bars and shebeens
• Conference and convention centres
• Entertainment venues, including cinemas, theatres, and concerts
• Sporting events
• Religious, cultural and social gatherings
• No gatherings of more than 10 people outside of a workplace will be permitted.
• Passengers on all modes of transport must wear a cloth mask to be allowed entry into the vehicle.
• Hand sanitisers must be made available, and all passengers must sanitise their hands before entering.
• Public transport vehicles must be sanitised on a daily basis.

No gatherings of more than 10 people outside of a workplace – there, it’s been made clear. You have no excuse when your shindig gets shut down and you plead ignorance.

It’s also important to note that the same alert level may not apply to the entire country at any given time. Some provinces, and metros, have been largely unaffected, whereas others have been harder hit.

As a result, different alert levels may in play at the same time. This from our National Command Council last night:

Again, it’s worth stressing how much remains uncertain at this stage, and Ramaphosa’s announcement last night should be seen as more of an introduction to the alert level system, and the various restrictions they entail.

Not to sow panic, but those metros most affected may be looking at a longer lockdown period. Once more from News24:

The country’s biggest metropolitan municipalities, including Johannesburg, Cape Town and eThekwini, could remain at the highest risk levels in terms of a new coronavirus risk level management system announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday night.

According to two Cabinet-level documents seen by News24, these cities, as well as the metropolitan areas of Buffalo City (East London) and Mangaung (Bloemfontein) could remain at level 5 – the highest – when the easing of lockdown restrictions commence next Friday.

Don’t shoot the messenger – you can read the full News24 report on that front here.

We now at least have a blueprint of the plan going forward, but we wait for many of the exact specifics to be clearly laid out, and what each alert level means in terms of day to day life.

If you thought your social media feed was already full of people asking if they can or can’t do something, prepare for an onslaught.

UPDATE: This via News24:

The Minister of COGTA, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Ebrahim Patel, will provide a detailed briefing on the classification of industries as part of the risk adjusted strategy on re-opening the economy as announced by President Ramaphosa.

The briefing will serve as the official launch of the Risk Adjusted Strategy for public comment and consultation.

This briefing is scheduled for Saturday, 25 April 2020 at 10AM.

[sources:news24&iol&news24]