- South Africa has eased restrictions and moved to Alert Level 1 as COVID-19 infections have declined significantly. - Gatherings of up to 100 people indoors or 250 outdoors are now permitted, and the curfew hours have been shortened. - However, basic health protocols like social distancing, mask-wearing, and avoiding crowds remain important to prevent a resurgence as the new variant spreads more easily. - The vaccination program will help contain the pandemic, but economic recovery also depends on maintaining low infection levels through continued prevention measures.

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STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON PROGRESS INTHE NATIONAL EFFORT TO
CONTAINTHE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
28 FEBRUARY 2021
FellowSouthAfricans,
ThiscomingFridaywill markexactlyone yearsince the firstcase of coronaviruswasreportedin
SouthAfrica.
Since then,more thanone-and-a-half millionpeopleinSouthAfricahave beeninfectedandnearly
50,000 people have beenreportedtohave diedfromthe disease.
So muchhas changedin ourcountry and inour lives.
But the spiritof our people has notchanged.
You have enduredthe greatesthardships,butyouhave remainedresolute,unitedandhopeful.
Now,a yearafter the virusfirstreachedourshores,we have a clearpath towardscontaining
infectionsand,ultimately,overcomingthe disease.
Withinlessthana yearthe global scientificcommunityhasdeveloped,testedandproducedseveral
vaccinesthatare safe and effective againstthe disease.
SouthAfrica’sscientistsandresearchinstitutionshave made animportantcontributiontothese
effortsandhave contributedtoglobal knowledgeaboutthe disease,includingonthe emergence of
newvariants.
We have longheldthe viewthata vaccine wouldbe ourmostdecisive measure tocombatCOVID-
19, and to thatextentsetupprocessesata continental andnational leveltoprepare forthe
availabilityof aneffective vaccine.
Like manycountries,we have nowstartedourvaccinationprogramme.
In the 10 days since we launchedourcoronavirusvaccinationprogramme,more than67,000 health
workers – whoare on the frontline of ourfightagainstCOVID-19– have beenvaccinated.
A newbatch of 80,000 dosesof the Johnson&Johnsonvaccine arrivedinthe countryyesterday,and
we are steadilyincreasingthe numberof dosesadministeredeachday.
The start of our vaccinationcampaignhasgone extremelywell.
It has shownwhatwe can achieve whenwe worktogetherasgovernment,the scientificcommunity
and the private sector.
All provinceshave establishedvaccinationsitesandhave putinplace plansforthe expansionof the
programme as itgainsmomentum.
The numberof sitesthatwill be availableforvaccinationwill be expandednextweekfrom17 sites
to 49 sites.
Of the 49 sites,32 will be at publichospitalsand17 sitesinprivate hospitals.

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Thisincludessitesinrural areasto improve accesstorural healthcare workers.
Once the vaccinationof healthcare workershasbeencompleted,we will beginwithphase twoof
the vaccine roll-outinlate April orearlyMay.
Phase twowill include the elderly,essential workers,personslivingorworkingininstitutional
settingsandthose withco-morbidities.
For thisphase,we will be activatingmanymore sitesforvaccinationinthe publicandprivate
healthcare sectorsothat we can reach as many people inthe shortestpossibletime.
We have recentlysignedanagreementwithJohnson&Johnsontosecure 11 milliondoses.
Of these doses,2.8milliondoseswillbe deliveredinthe secondquarterandthe restspread
throughoutthe year.
We have alsosecured20 milliondosesfromPfizer,whichwill be deliveredfromthe secondquarter.
Additionally,we have secured12millionvaccine dosesfromthe COVAXfacilityandare inthe
processof finalisingourdose allocationfromthe AfricanUnion.
We are in constant contact withvariousothervaccine manufacturerstoensure thatwe have the
necessaryquantitiesof vaccineswhenwe needthem.
FellowSouthAfricans,
WhenI lastaddressedthe nation,atthe beginningof thismonth,the countryhadpassedthe peak
of the secondwave of coronavirusinfections.
Drivenbya newvariantof the virus,the secondwave wasfar more devastatingandcausedgreater
lossof life thanthe firstwave.
The country has nowclearlyemergedfromthe secondwave.
Newinfections,admissions tohospital anddeathshave fallensignificantlyandcontinue todecline
steadily.
In the weekthathas justpassed,the countryrecordedjustunder10,000 new infections.
A monthago, inthe last weekof January,the countryrecordedover40,000 new cases.
Anda monthbefore that,inthe lastweekof December,the countryrecordedclose to90,000 new
cases.
Thisdramatic decline incasesovereightweeksisdue toa combinationof the publichealth
measuresintroduced,changesinbehaviourandaccumulatingimmunityinthose whobecame
infectedinourcommunities.
We were able toemerge fromthe secondwave because mostpeopleadheredtothe tighter
restrictionsandobservedthe basichealthprotocols,includingwearingmasksinpublicandsocial
distancing.
The measureswe hadto put inplace in Decemberwere necessarytocontaininfectionsandprevent
our healthfacilitiesfrombeingoverwhelmed.
Theywere necessarytosave lives.

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We hadto undertake these measuresknowingthattheyplacedrestrictionson the dailylivesof
everyone inthiscountry.Theycausedgreatinconvenience tomany.
Andwhile we made everyefforttokeepthe economyopen,we alsoknew thatthere were partsof
the economythat wouldbe affectedandthatwouldn’tbe able tooperate fully.
Our approachhas alwaysbeenthatsuch restrictionsshouldnotremaininplace longerthanis
absolutelynecessarytocontainthe disease.
Due to the decline ininfections,the countrycannow ease some of the restrictionsonmovement
and activity.
Once again,we do so cautiously.
Evenaftera sustainedperiodof relativelylow transmission,we have seenhow the numberof new
infectionscanrise rapidlyandwithoutwarning.
Basedon an assessmentof the currentstate of the pandemicinthe country,Cabinetdecidedearlier
todayto move the country fromCoronavirusAlertLevel 3toAlertLevel 1.
The newalertlevel will come intoeffectlaterthiseveningonce the regulationshave beengazetted.
Thiswill meanthat:
The hours of the curfewwill nowbe from12 midnightto4am.
Gatheringswill be permitted,subjecttolimitationsonsize,adherence tosocial distancingandother
healthprotocols.
These include religious,social,political andcultural gatherings.
The maximumnumberof people allowedatany gatheringis100 people indoorsor250 people
outdoors.
Where the venue istoosmall to accommodate these numberswithappropriate social distancing,
thenno more than 50 percent of the capacity of the venue maybe used.
Nightvigilsorothergatherings before orafterfuneralsare still notpermitted.
Nightclubswillremainclosed.
The sale of alcohol will be permitted,accordingtonormal licence provisions.However,noalcohol
may be soldduringthe hoursof curfew.
The wearingof masksin publicplacesisstill mandatory,andfailuretoweara maskwhenrequired
remainsa criminal offence.
The 33 landborderpoststhat have beenclosedthroughoutthisperiodwillremainclosed,whilethe
other20 will remainopen.
Onlyfive airportswill be openforinternational travel withstandardinfectioncontrol measures.
These are OR Tambo, Cape Town,KingShaka,KrugerMpumalangaand Lanseriaairports.
As we ease restrictions,we cannotletourguarddown.
The fewremainingrestrictionsunderAlertLevel 1are meantto maintainlow levelsof infections
and,in particular,topreventsuper-spreadingevents.

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The newvariant– knownas 501Y.v2 – isnow the dominantvariantinthe country.
Because the newvariantistransmittedmore easily,ithasthe potential toinfectmore people,place
a greaterstrain onour healthsystemandleadtoa greaterlossof life.
Therefore,social distancingisevenmore critical.
Wearinga mask andavoidingcrowdsisevenmore important.
Andit isnow evenmore importantthatwe all downloadthe COVIDAlertSA mobile appontoour
cellphones.
NearlytwomillionSouthAfricansare alreadyusingthe COVIDAlertSA mobile apptobe notifiedif
theyare exposedtothe virus.
Please gofora testif youhave any symptomsof COVID-19.
These measuresare notmerelytoprotecteachof us butto also protectthose we love andcare for.
Followingthese measuresisaboutprotectingyourself,yourfamilyandyourcommunity.
It isabout beingresponsibleandcaring.
We mustcontinue these measuresevenasmore andmore people are vaccinated.
Vaccinessignificantlyreduce the likelihoodof apersondevelopingsymptomsandbecoming
seriouslyill,andtheyreduce the overall rate of infectioninapopulation.
We therefore needtosee vaccinesas one of the measuresthatwe have in our coronavirustoolkitto
containthe pandemic.
As we have saidinthe past vaccinesare now the mosteffective measure thatwe have.
Still,we will onlybe able toultimatelyovercomethe pandemicif we continue topractice all the
otherpreventionmeasuresaswell.
We mustdo all thisbothso that we defeatthe pandemicandsothat we can accelerate our
economicrecovery.
We mustdo thisto restore ourcountry to growthand getpeople backintowork.
Evenas economicactivityreturns,evenaswe roll outouremploymentstimulusandinfrastructure
investmentprogrammes,evenaswe undertake economicreformswithgreaterurgency,many
businessesare still struggling.
Many people still donothave theirjobsbackand many householdsare still feelingthe effectof
havinglostmuchof theirincome.
As I announcedinthe State of the NationAddress,we have therefore extendedthe periodforthe
Special COVID-19Grant bya furtherthree months,until the endof April.
We have alsoextendedthe UIF’sspecial COVID-19wage supportbenefituntil 15March 2021 for
those sectorsof the economythathave notbeenable to operate overthisperiod.
These measureshave beenshowntobe effective atreducingthe economicimpactof the pandemic
on some of the most vulnerableinoursociety.

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Our country’spublicfinancesare,however,extremelyconstrained,andwe cannotkeepsuchrelief
measuresinplace indefinitely.
The return to AlertLevel 1meansthat mostof the remainingrestrictionsoneconomicactivityhave
beenremoved.
We expectthistoleadtohigherconsumptionspending,bolsteredbythe steadyrecoveryin
employment.
We expectbusinessestoimplementthe planstheymayhave puton hold.
As we undertake furtherstructural reforms,thiswillentrenchthe greenshootswe have begunto
see inthe economy.
That is whyall our energyandeffortmustnow go intogrowingthe economy – andthisincludes
keepinginfectionsdown.
For thisreason,amongothers,the easingof restrictionsshouldnotbe viewedasareasonto
abandonprecautions.
The threat of a thirdwave isconstantlypresent,asisthe threatof yetmore new variants.
As we witnessedlastyear,ouractionsas individualsandasa collective will determinewhetherand
howsoonwe experience aresurgence of the virus.
In the meantime,the viruscontinuestocirculate inourfamilies,ourworkplacesandour
communities.
As ourvaccinationcampaigngatherspace,we mustcontinue toexercise extreme cautiontoprotect
ourselvesandothers.
Togetherwithourscientistsandexperts,we will continue tomonitorthe situationcloselyandto
adapt our approachin a responsive andflexible manner.
Thispandemichastakenmuch fromus, butit has nottakenour strength,ourcourage or our sense
of solidarityasapeople.
It has notdampenedourspiritorweakenedourresolve.
Our uniquelySouthAfricanspirithasallowedustoremainsteadfastinthe face of an unprecedented
threat,and whichwill continuetoinspire usaswe chart a pathto recovery.
Let usremainunited,hopeful anddeterminedasevertoface downthischallenge.
May God continue toblessSouthAfricaandprotectherpeople.
I thankyou.
Issuedbythe Presidencyof the Republicof SouthAfrica
www.thepresidency.gov.za