South Africans resorted to making and sharing recipes for pineapple beer, while others even tried their hand at brewing craft beer – with varying levels of success. Not only did those regulations prevent us from face-to-face contact with others, they also took away many of our vices which we desperately wanted to help make the days of lockdown a little more bearable.Īmong the biggest was the ban on alcohol and cigarette sales. South Africans were subjected to a raft of regulations that we needed to follow. We realized that we’re social beings and that we needed to interact with our friends, families, and (believe it or not) … even our colleagues! We were all so impressed with the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who – in what became known as his family meetings – called on South Africans to rally together and to slow the spread of the deadly COVID-19.Īnd very soon after those initial three weeks, the novelty of our new-found baking skills and running around in our backyards had already become stale. Suddenly, we had to fundamentally change the way we were living – because we weren’t allowed to go outside. Senior News Anchor, Morné Esben takes a look at some of the more bizarre regulations South Africans had to put up with during lockdown.īanana bread, Zoom calls, and home fitness became a way of life for South Africans as we were asked to navigate 21 days of what became known as “hard lockdown” due to the Coronavirus pandemic. ![]() “We have encouraged them to use their own data, the evolving situation on the ground and their capacity for surveillance … to provide any adjustments.South Africa’s national State of Disaster was recently lifted after more than 700 days of keeping the country in lockdown, albeit on different levels.Īt their worst, some of the regulations under the State of Disaster were draconian, illogical, and downright stupid. “We also expect that the protocols will not all be the same during this stage of the pandemic,” the acting director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Ahmed Ogwell Ouma told a briefing. Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said scrapping the requirement for travelers to show a vaccination certificate or negative COVID test would help make South Africa more accessible and help the hospitality industry.Īsked about the country’s latest steps, Africa’s top public health agency said countries were at different stages of coping with COVID-19 and advised the use of data-driven strategies. If vaccine uptake did not increase significantly by November, up to 8 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine could be wasted, he said, adding the government was negotiating with Johnson & Johnson to try to waive future vaccine deliveries. Phaahla said managers of places, such as restaurants, hotels and schools could still require masks on their premises but it was no longer government policy. South Africa’s vaccination campaign initially struggled because of limited supplies and protracted negotiations with manufacturers but more recently it has been dogged by hesitancy.Ībout half of the country’s 40 million adults have received at least one vaccine dose, with 46% fully vaccinated. “The COVID-19 virus is not yet gone, … we are just stronger than before especially with vaccination,” he told a news conference, urging those eligible for boosters and not yet vaccinated to come forward. ![]() ![]() The country has recorded the most coronavirus cases and deaths in Africa, with more than 3.9 million confirmed infections and upwards of 101,000 deaths.īut health minister Joe Phaahla said on Thursday that authorities had noted a decline in cases, hospitalisations and reported deaths and concluded that a limited fifth wave was dissipating. South Africa has repealed COVID-19 rules that made masks mandatory in indoor public spaces, limited the size of gatherings and imposed entry requirements at its borders, the health minister said on Thursday.
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