Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet has announced updated level 1 lockdown rules for South Africa after the country exited the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a meeting that was held on Monday, January 31, between the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the president, new regulations regarding the adjusted alert level 1 were approved.
The changes include that:
· People who test positive with no symptoms do not have to isolate.
· If one tests positive with symptoms, the isolation period has been reduced from 10 to 7 days.
· Contacts do not have to isolate unless they develop symptoms.
“The rationale for these amendments is informed by the proportion of people with immunity to Covid-19 which has risen substantially, exceeding 60-80% in several sero-surveys,” said Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele in a statement.
The Cabinet also reviewed the resumption of schooling to full-time learning in all schools.
“Primary, secondary and special schools will return to daily attendance. The regulatory provision for social distancing of 1 meter for learners in schools has also been removed.
“The Ministers of Health and Basic Education will in the coming days issue directives reflecting on this new approach,” said the statement.
The country, however, remains on adjusted Level 1, Cabinet resolved.
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Compiled by: Odwa Shumi
