New level 3 lockdown rules in a nutshell

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa will move from alert level 4 to alert level 3 of the national COVID-19 lockdown on 1 June.

While the final level 3 regulations are still to be released, Ramaphosa provided an overview of what to expect at level 3.

Wholesale and retail trade will be fully opened, including stores, spaza shops, and informal traders. Ecommerce will also continue to remain open.

Other sectors that opened previously, such as agriculture and forestry, utilities, medical services, food production, and manufacture of hygiene products, will remain fully open.

When the country moves to level 3 on 1 June, the current 20:00-05:00 curfew will be lifted and people will be allowed to exercise outside at any time of the day.

Alcohol will be allowed to be sold at certain times, but Ramaphosa highlighted that it can only be consumed at home.

Restaurants will be allowed to offer delivery, collection, and drive-through services.

Schools and universities

Schools across South Africa will resume classes for grades 7 and 12 learners from 1 June.

Over the weekend, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande also announced that more students would be allowed to return to university campuses and residences under alert level 3.

Under level 3, more students will be able to return to university campuses but under very strict conditions.

A maximum of 33% of the student population will be allowed to return to campuses, delivery sites, and residences on condition that they can be safely accommodated and supported. This will include the following cohorts:

• All groups that have already returned during alert level 4.
• Students in the final year of their programmes, who are on a path to graduating in 2020 may return.
• Final year students who require access to laboratories, technical equipment, data, connectivity, and access to residence and private accommodation should return.
• Students in all years of study that require clinical training in their programmes.
• Postgraduate students who require laboratory equipment and other technical equipment to undertake their studies.

In addition to the above, institutions may also consider selected return of other categories of students to residences who may face extreme difficulties in their home learning environments.

Some industries to remain closed

To ensure that citizens maintain social distancing, certain high-risk economic activities will remain prohibited.

These include:

• Restaurants, bars and taverns, except for the delivery or collection of food.
• Accommodation and domestic air travel, except for business travel, which will be phased in on dates to be announced.
• Conferences, events, entertainment, and sporting activities.
• Personal care services, including hairdressing, and beauty services.

The sale of tobacco, tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and related products, however, will remain prohibited under level 3.

New level 3 lockdown rules in a nutshell

The table below provides an overview of what President Cyril Ramaphosa and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced to date.

It should be noted that the final level 3 regulations will only be released at a later stage which may include changes to what was announced.