Last night, the 23rd of April 2020, President Ramaphosa gave a speech about the lockdown and how it will be slowly relaxed over time. He spoke about five different levels of lockdown and that on the 1st of May 2020, we will be going from Level 5 to Level 4. Here is what each level of the lockdown means:

  • Level five: means strict rules are needed to stop the spread of the virus to save lives (we are now on Level 5).
  • Level four: means that some activities can start again, but that we must still be very careful to limit community transmission and outbreaks (Level 4 will start on the 1st of May 2020).
  • Level three: means relaxing some restrictions, including on work and social activities to address high risk of transmission.
  • Level two: means relaxing more restrictions, but keeping social distancing and rules on some fun and social activities to stop the virus coming back.
  • Level one: means that most normal activities can start again with precaution and health guidelines followed at all times.

The President also said that different areas in the country (provinces, districts, communities) could have different levels depending on how serious the Coronavirus spread is in those areas.

If you want to find out more about the President’s speech, you can check out the full speech here or you can wait for the Ministers to give more information and detail on how it will be implemented.

We thank the President again for his leadership, keeping the public informed and taking steps to keep us safe.

Pic Credit: EWN