Adjusted Level 2 lockdown rules for South Africa — what you can and can’t do

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Corporate Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has published updated regulations for South Africa’s adjusted alert level 2 lockdown in the Government Gazette. In a separate notice, Dlamini-Zuma also extended South Africa’s National State of Disaster by another month — to 15 October 2021.

The gazetting of the new lockdown rules follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday that South Africa would move to Alert Level 2 as the number of daily new cases of Covid–19 continues to decline.

In addition to relaxing existing lockdown restrictions, Dlamini-Zuma also imposed additional requirements on district municipalities.

The gazette states that district municipalities, after consulting with the local municipalities in their areas, must alert communities of increasing Covid-19 infections.

District municipalities must publish areas with high infection rates on their websites and in the local media.

They are required to update the information as and when it becomes available.

The updated lockdown regulations published by Dlamini-Zuma are effective from 13 September 2021.

They are summarised below.

Curfew and mask mandate
It remains a criminal offence to not wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth while in a public place, with certain exceptions.

Failing to comply with an instruction from an enforcement officer to wear a mask may result in a fine and/or imprisonment of up to six months.

Everyone is confined to their homes from 23:00 until 04:00 unless they are performing an essential service as determined by a cabinet minister, have a permit, or are attending to a security or medical emergency.

If you have arrived on a late flight and must travel from the airport during the hours of curfew, you will be allowed to do so provided that you have a valid boarding pass or a copy of the airline ticket.

The following establishments and venues must close by 22:00 to allow staff and patrons to get home before the start of the curfew.

Cinemas
Theatres
Casinos
Museums, galleries and archives
Public swimming pools
Beaches and public parks
Game parks, botanical gardens, aquariums and zoos
Gyms and fitness centres
Restaurants, bars, shebeens and taverns
Venues hosting auctions
Venues hosting professional sport
Venues hosting faith-based or religious gatherings
Venues hosting social, political and cultural gatherings
Gatherings and funerals
Religious, social, political, and cultural gatherings are restricted to 250 people indoors and 500 people outdoors.

These restrictions apply to restaurants, bars, shebeens, casinos, and entertainment facilities. They also apply to conferencing, expo, and fitness centres.

Funerals are permitted but are limited to a maximum of 50 attendees, depending on the capacity of the venue, and a maximum duration of two hours.

During a funeral, people must wear their masks and adhere to all health and safety protocols and social distancing measures. Night vigils and after-funeral gatherings remain forbidden.

Initiation practices are permitted, subject to relevant risk-adjusted protocols.

Post-initiation celebrations are permitted, with guests limited to 100 people for indoor venues and 250 people for outdoor venues.

If a venue can’t accommodate the number of people mentioned above while maintaining social distancing of at least 1.5 metres between them, it is restricted to 50% of its total capacity.

Source: News365

In other news –  DJ Shimza drops another summer banger

Award-winning musician Ashley Raphala, popularly known as Shimza, has released another summer banger. The music producer has a new song called Fight to Love, featuring songstress Maleh.

Speaking to SunBuzz, Shimza said that the song was inspired by people from all over the world who are still coming to terms with the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Learn more