South Africa on Monday moved to the Level One lockdown with eased restrictions in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic but the war against the disease “is not yet over,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has warned.
With the Level One lockdown virtually all of South Africa’s economic and social activities have been freed from severe restrictions of the past six months when most of activities – except for essential services – had come to a halt.
However, in spite of the easing of the restrictions, strict observations of the health and safety protocols remained in place as Mkhize added that South Africa was “not yet out of the woods.”
He urged South Africans to comply with the health and safety regulations like washing hands regularly, wearing their masks, keeping distance, and refraining from attending huge gatherings at churches, mosques, funerals, concerts and sporting events.
“We are now searching for the vaccine. But before we get the vaccine, we can’t rest. South Africans need to know that Level One isn’t like everything is over,” he said.
Mkhize warned that there was still the risk of “a second wave” of Covid-19 infections.
“This Covid-19 can still resurge. We must not lose the message and be complacent.”
The minister said this as South Africa recorded 15,953 Covid-19 related deaths from 661,211 confirmed cases since the disease broke out in the country in March.
NM/jn/APA