Lockdown: Whole of SA moves to Level 3, hotspot areas to be constantly assessed, says Mkhize

The Ministry of Health has clarified that the entire country will move to a Level 3 lockdown on 1 June after a presentation Health Minister Zweli Mkhize made on Tuesday appeared to contradict President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement on Sunday evening.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the minister said there would be constant assessment of every area, as well as its rate of infection, and further containment measures and restrictions might be considered.

"If the spread of the infection is not contained despite interventions, government will make a determination on whether to return that specific area (i.e. metropolitan, district, sub district, ward) to Alert Level 4 or 5," Mkhize clarified in the statement.

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The presentation the minister made to the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday included an old slide that stated that "hotspots would remain at Level 4".

"The slide is now outdated and was inadvertently included in a presentation that had been updated," Mkhize explained on Wednesday.

Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that the country would move to Level 3 of the risk adjusted strategy, meaning that more economic activity would be allowed while managing the pandemic. In his announcement, he mentioned areas identified as epidemiological hotspots - those areas that have more than 5 people infected per 100 000 of the population or areas where the infections are increasing at a fast pace.

Mkhize said on Wednesday that "cluster outbreaks drive the pandemic because spread occurs within the cluster, then the individuals take the virus home with them, thus causing community outbreaks".

He said, while the country would move to Level 3 on Monday, the government could return parts of South Africa to levels 4 or 5 if the spread of Covid-19 spiked.

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"This will be done rapidly and in an effort to contain and manage the spread, and also to ensure that our health facilities are not overwhelmed by the rapid rise of positive cases in that area.

"This therefore means that as the whole country moves to Level 3, there will be a constant assessment of each and every area and its rate of infection," Mkhize clarified.

According to the minister, this raises the importance of social behaviour during the global pandemic. People must take it upon themselves to maintain social distancing, wash or sanitise their hands and wear masks.

Mkhize emphasised that staying home was key and he urged employers to promote working from home if staff were able to do so, and to facilitate this new culture.

"For those employees who must still go to work, they must embrace the new way of life which will protect them, their families and their fellow workers," he said.

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