President Cyril Ramaphosa moved SA back to lockdown alert level 1 on Thursday night, which means the curfew has been shortened, restrictions on alcohol sales eased, and more people are now allowed to attend indoor and outdoor gatherings.
Mask-wearing remains compulsory and failure to do so when required remains a criminal offence.
The widely expected move to level 1 will help many business owners breathe a little easier.
But one measure that did raise some eyebrows was increasing the maximum number of people permitted to gather indoors from 250 to 750, and the maximum number of people being permitted to gather outdoors from 500 to 2,000.
And this while funerals are restricted to 100 people and “after tears” events are still prohibited.
The decision to allow so many people at gatherings a month before South Africans head to the polls in the November 1 local government elections is a curious one as it effectively gives the green light to political parties to hold rallies as they canvass for votes.
It has been criticised by some who believe the decision was disproportionate and not based on science, but rather to accommodate political events in the coming weeks.
Allowing large gatherings of up to 2,000 people, even if it is outdoors, has the potential to rapidly speed up the predicted fourth wave, which is expected in December.
While SA’s vaccination numbers are rising steadily, more still needs to be done to convince people to get the jab, and it requires us to continue to take safety precautions to protect ourselves from contracting and spreading Covid-19.
It is encouraging that there will be weekend vaccination drives to encourage the public to get the jab as vaccine hesitancy is a challenge that will stall efforts to achieve herd immunity.
As Ramaphosa said on Thursday, getting vaccinated is not only about protecting yourself and those around you, but about preventing new and more dangerous variants from emerging.
We already know how much strain that places on hospitals and healthcare workers.
So, while restrictions have been eased, the onus is on all of us to make safe, responsible decisions to protect ourselves if we are to delay the fourth wave and have a somewhat normal festive season under abnormal circumstances.
HeraldLIVE
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