President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, with alcohol sales returning to normal hours and the nighttime curfew reduced in length.

The curfew will now be from midnight to 4am, Ramaphosa said in a televised address. Non-essential establishments will have to close by 11pm, while no alcohol may be sold to the public later than 11pm.

After-funeral events remain banned.

The maximum number of people allowed at indoor events has been increased from 250 to 750 people. For outdoor events, the number has been increased from 500 to 2 000.

“Where a venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50% of the venue may be utilised,” Ramaphosa said.

The president said further relaxations are on the cards, particularly for sporting and cultural events, with details to be announced soon.

Meanwhile, the national department of health will soon begin rolling out vaccination certificates, which Ramaphosa described as a “secure and verifiable proof of vaccination” that can be used for travel purposes and for accessing establishments that require such proof.

“Our approach is informed by World Health Organisation guidelines and is in line with international best practice,” Ramaphosa said. “It will go a long way to getting international travel restrictions eased.”

Wearing of masks in public remains mandatory.

‘Vuma Vaccination’ weekends

In an effort to increase the vaccination rate — and reach government’s target of reaching 70% of the adult population by the end of the year, Ramaphosa announced “Vuma Vaccination” weekends, starting tomorrow.

This is a countrywide drive to encourage people to get jabbed against Covid-19. “The department of health has identified priority districts based on the number of unvaccinated people,” he said. Political, labour, religious and business leaders will be asked to “mobilise communities to stay safe by getting vaccinated”. — (c) 2021 NewsCentral Media