The president announces that the whole country will move to lockdown level 3
Ri puerile, Dumelang, Sanibonani, Molweni, Ndi madekwana, Gooie naand, good evening.
As a result of the measures we imposed — and the sacrifices you made — we have managed to slow the rate of infection and prevent our health facilities from being overwhelmed. Washing our hands regularly, wearing a face mask, keeping at least a 1.5m distance from other people, avoiding touching our faces with unwashed hands and cleaning surfaces we touch regularly.
As a result of the drastic containment measures we have taken, we have been able to strengthen our health response.There are nearly 60,000 community health workers who have been going door-to-door across the country to identify possible cases of coronavirus. The scale and the speed of the public health response to this emergency has been impressive, but there is still much more that we need to do.
Various models have been built to predict the trajectory of the virus and help to inform our planning and budgeting.Firstly, that the coronavirus pandemic in SA is going to get much worse before it gets better. Since then, we have met with the leaders of political parties represented in parliament and with business, trade unions and the community constituency.
We appreciate the diverse and sometimes challenging views of the scientists and health professionals in our country, which stimulate public debate and enrich our response. They have enriched the thinking in government, providing a direct view of the challenges that our people in different constituencies confront.
This risk-adjusted approach is guided by several criteria, including the level of infections and rate of transmission, the capacity of health facilities, the extent of the implementation of public health interventions and the economic and social impact of continued restrictions. The following metros have been identified as coronavirus hotspots: Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Ethekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and Cape Town.
This team will include epidemiologists, family practitioners, nurses, community health workers, public health experts and emergency medical services, to be supported by Cuban experts. The implementation of alert level 3 from the beginning of June will involve the return to operation of most sectors of the economy, subject to observance of strict health protocols and social distancing rules.
Our priority is to reduce the opportunities for the transmission of the virus and create a safe environment for everyone. Announcements in this regard will be made once we have concluded discussions with the sector on the various conditions. We have had fruitful discussions with leaders of the interfaith religious community on their proposals for the partial opening of spiritual worship and counselling services subject to certain norms and standards.
We will therefore be finalising a number of sector protocols and will require every company to develop a workplace plan before they reopen. To ensure that we maintain social distancing, certain high-risk economic activities will remain prohibited. These include: We have held discussions with the tourism, hotel and restaurant industry regarding the challenges and hardships these sectors are experiencing.
We applaud those companies that have contributed to the Solidarity Fund and in other ways to our response. These include companies like Volkswagen, which is building a field hospital in an unused factory in Nelson Mandela Bay that can accommodate 4,000 beds. A number of businesses have advised us that they are looking at how they can reduce congestion on public transport, including through staggering working hours and providing transport for employees.
Measures are also being put in place to ensure safety as children access the school nutrition programme and learner transport. We are also taking a phased approach to the resumption of learning at institutions of higher learning.
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