President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken decisive action against the Coronavirus pandemic and on Sunday night declared a State of National Disaster in South Africa.
The deadly Covid-19 virus has so far infected 61 people in South Africa, he noted, and the country is now dealing with internal transmission of the virus.
“We have now declared a national state of disaster. We will set up emergency and rapid response systems,” he said.
South Africans were made to wait for nearly three hours before Ramaphosa addressed the country from the Union Buildings in Pretoria after he attended a special Cabinet meeting to discuss matters related to the pandemic.
Among the strict measures to be taken, government has:
* Revoked the visas of foreign nationals from high-risk countries, including Italy, Spain, South Korea, China, Iran and the US, as of 18 March 2020.
* All non-essential travel outside of the country by all spheres of government is prohibited while South Africans have been urged not to travel through affected regions.
* People returning from high-risk countries will be subjected to intense screening, testing and self-quarantine.
* 35 of the country’s 53 land ports of entry will be shut down from today.
* All non-essential domestic travelling is discouraged particularly by air, rail, taxi and bus.
Ramaphosa said South Africans need to change their behaviour as the virus is transmitted from person to person.
Social distancing measures include:
* regular washing of hands with soap and water and using hand sanitiser
* coughing into a tissue or flexed elbow
* avoiding people with cold or flu-like symptoms
* gatherings of more than 100 people prohibited including at places of worship
* government celebrations of national holidays are cancelled
* visits to all prisons are suspended for 30 days immediately
* malls and areas frequented by people to bolster their hygiene control
“We must encourage the elbow greeting,” the president said, giving a demonstration.
Schools across the country will close on Wednesday, 18 March, and reopen after the Easter weekend on Tuesday, 14 April.
To make up for lost class time, the June holidays will be shortened by one week.
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The graduation ceremonies are cancelled at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University while the University of the Western Cape is set to make an announcement today.
The Coronavirus has resulted in a number of major events being cancelled or postponed, including the 51st Two Oceans Marathon, that was due to take place on 11 April, and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
Africa’s Grandest Gathering was scheduled to take place on March 27 and March 28, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) with a stellar line-up of stars.
About 40 000 people attend the festival each year.
Ramaphosa says the government will be partnering with the private sector to set up a national tracking and monitoring system for all Coronavirus cases.
The pandemic will also have dire consequences on the economy as sectors such as tourism are already affected.
Cabinet is busy finalising a fiscal package to help deal with the outbreak, the president said.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by fear and panic,” said Ramaphosa.
“We must stop spreading unverified and fake news. “We have the expertise, means and knowledge to fight this disease.”
Globally, about 162,000 cases have been recorded, with a total of 6,069 deaths while just over 76 000 people have recovered.