South Africa’s efforts to ease the coronavirus lockdown measures move from Level 4 to Level 3 starting on June 1, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday.
“This means that all economic activities are allowed to resume with some exceptions,” Ramaphosa said.
During this stage, alcohol would be sold for domestic consumption and on specified days only, while sales of tobacco products would remain prohibited for now, Ramaphosa said.
Doing exercises, previously banned, would be allowed to take place at any time in Level 3 – and no longer restricted to specific times as was the case in Level 4, he said.
“As we enter the next stage of our coronavirus pandemic response, government will focus on careful monitoring, dealing with hotspot areas and measures to protect frontline workers and the most vulnerable members of our society,” the president said.
He added that in the new measures, group gatherings remained banned, except for funerals. However, the number of mourners should not exceed 50, he said.
He also confirmed that schools and universities would reopen from next month despite remaining concerns over the risk this posed to learners.
The president announced that there were 22,583 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country which have led to the death of 429 people.
NM/jn/APA