China Overseas Chinese Network, March 23. According to the "Africa Times" WeChat public account, on March 22, local time, South African President Ramaphosa said that the cabinet has decided to relax some epidemic prevention restrictions as part of the adjusted first-level epidemic prevention regulations. part.
In previous rules, the focus was reportedly on setting caps on the number of people who can attend gatherings.
The way forward is that both indoor and outdoor venues can now accommodate up to 50% of capacity as long as they have proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test report within 72 hours.
However, if the requirement to provide proof of vaccinations or Covid-19 testing is not followed, the current cap will remain in place, with a maximum of 1,000 people indoors and a maximum of 2,000 people outdoors.
This change to restrictions on gatherings will be of particular benefit to the sports, culture, entertainment and events industries.
That means people will be able to return to stadiums to watch sporting events and attend concerts, theatrical performances, conferences and other events if they are vaccinated or test negative.
The maximum number of people allowed at funerals will increase from 100 to 200.
As before, night vigils and after-funeral gatherings are not allowed.
There are also important changes to the rules for wearing masks.
As before, masks or similar coverings must be worn over the nose and mouth when in public indoor spaces.
However, you do not need to wear a mask when you are outdoors.
This means that people still need to wear masks in shops, malls, offices, factories, minibuses, buses, trains or any other indoor public places, but not when walking on the street or in the open, exercising outdoors or attending outdoor gatherings Masks are required.
The rules around social distancing have also been revised to require a one-metre distance between people in all settings except schools.
There are also changes to the rules for international travel.
Travellers entering South Africa are required to present proof of vaccination or proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours.
These measures will come into effect on Wednesday 23 March 2022 following the publication of the new regulations.
With these changes, nearly all restrictions on social and economic activity will be lifted.
Finally, South African President Ramaphosa once again urged South Africans to get vaccinated. According to statistics, unvaccinated people are more severely infected by the new crown virus. Therefore, vaccination is crucial.