GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - South Africans no longer need to wear masks outdoors, but they remain mandatory inside public places.
This concession is part of the easing of some alert level 1 restrictions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday evening, 22 March.
Ramaphosa also announced that the national state of disaster is to be lifted as soon as public comment on the new health regulations has been completed. These regulations will be used to manage the pandemic. Comment can be submitted before 16 April.
Indoor and outdoor venues are now allowed to take up to 50% of their capacity provided that the criteria for entrance are proof of vaccination or a Covid test not older than 72 hours.
Where there is no provision for proof of vaccination or a Covid test, the current upper limit will remain - 1 000 people indoors and 2 000 people outdoors.
The maximum number of people permitted at a funeral will increase from 100 to 200. As before, night vigils, after-funeral gatherings and "after-tears" gatherings are not allowed.
The regulations on social distancing are also being changed, requiring that a space of one metre is maintained between persons in all settings except schools.
There are also changes to the regulations on international travel. Travellers entering South Africa will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours.
All unvaccinated travellers entering the country who want to be vaccinated will be offered a vaccination.
Ramaphosa said going forward, the most important defences against the disease are, firstly, vaccination and, secondly, the observance of basic measures, such as wearing masks indoors.
"The further easing of the remaining restrictions will require that we increase the rate of vaccination among South Africans. While we welcome the fact that more than 68 % of people older than 60 years have been vaccinated, we are concerned that only 35% of people between 18 and 35 years have been vaccinated," said Ramaphosa.
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