[imagesource: GCIS / Flickr]

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Wednesday evening in another ‘family meeting’, as some have started calling his COVID-19 updates.

In his address, he warned South Africans that a rise in complacency could lead to a  second wave.

(He says he has been on social media, seen those jolling videos, and isn’t impressed.)

While there was widespread concern that we could be looking at a harder lockdown, or at the very least a return to a form of alert level 2, some restrictions were actually lifted.

Per Business Insider SA, the announcement of a promising vaccine has changed the government’s perspective.

“As South Africans we have endured what we hope is the worst of the storm”, he said, after noting the spiralling Covid-19 numbers in other parts of the world, and warning against “coronavirus fatigue”.

However, he also revealed that a number of COVID-19 hotspots had resurfaced.

“What we are witnessing in Eastern Cape should be a wake-up call to all of us, that we cannot relax and we cannot be complacent. We are closely monitoring developments in areas that are experiencing higher than average rates of new infections.”

Here’s a breakdown of some of the key announcements made last night.

No More ‘Red List’

At the end of September, the government announced that we would once more be opening our borders to international visitors, provided that the country that they came from didn’t fall on our ‘red list’ (high-risk countries that would be denied entry).

The list was determined by measuring infection rates on a scale of high, medium, and low risk.

That list has now been scrapped, and tourists from all countries will be allowed into South Africa, provided they comply with strict safety protocols and present a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival.

Late (ish) Night Booze Runs Are Back Within Licenced Trading Hours

Trading hours will go back to pre-pandemic times, “for instance for the sale of alcohol for retail outlets”.

Before this amendment to the rules, the cut-off time for booze sales was 5PM from Monday to Friday.

The midnight to 4AM curfew remains in place.

The Eastern Cape Is Of Concern

Ramaphosa warned that rising COVID-19 cases in the Eastern Cape should be a “wake up call” for South Africans living in Cape Town, parts of the Free State and Northern Cape, and the Garden Route.

“With many people moving between the Eastern Cape and other provinces, particularly the Western Cape, it is a matter of time before this surge spreads to other parts of the country.”

A “resurgence plan”, conceived of before we moved to alert level 1, will be implemented that focuses on contact tracing, community mobilisation, and health system readiness.

Christmas 

The president warned that the urge to travel, gather with loved ones, and celebrate the holidays without staying vigilant, and adhering to the health and safety rules, could contribute to a second wave.

He did not say that these traditions should be changed, just that we should do “what we all know must be done”.

Wear masks, keep to physical distancing, and limit contact.

The call to wear a mask, sanitise one’s hands, and maintain physical distancing was repeated multiple times throughout the address.

While we all have some degree of pandemic fatigue, pretending like everything is normal is only going to make the situation worse.

Sticking to the rules is still our first line of defence against the virus, and, until a confirmed and widely distributed vaccine comes along, the only way that we’re going to beat this thing.

Enjoy buying booze on a Saturday. We’ve earned that.

[source:businessinsider]