Ramaphosa: SA not stuck on level 4 of lockdown
President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured South Africans that the country will move to level three of the lockdown regulations.
Speaking in the Eastern Cape on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the move to level 3 could even happen before the end of May.
“We are going to go to level three and it might even be earlier than the end of the month. We are going to make sure that we consult and we consult properly and thoroughly . There is no need to get excited or get hot under the collar. We are doing this as properly as it should be done.”
Consultations on the move to level 3 are expected to begin on Friday, with Ramaphosa saying that he expects them to be concluded as soon as possible.
“Once that consultation process is done, we will be then be able to make an announcement because our direction is to go to level three,” he adds.
It is still not clear which parts of the country will be moved to lockdown level 3 and which are the so-called hot-spots that will remain on level 4.
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Ramaphosa reiterated that areas which have the largest concentration of Covid-19 cases may remain on level 4 in order to curb the further spread of the virus.
“Other areas on the basis of scientific analysis on how the infection rate is manifesting itself may well remain at level 4 and that is where the discussions are going to be”.
Data by the Department of Health shows that the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng are the country's Covid-19 hot-spots.
The biggest metros in those provinces also represent the largest number of Covid-19 infections.