The Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, has said that the movement of children between co-parents during the lockdown period is prohibited.
During a media briefing on 28 March, Zulu said that this is to ensure that the child is not exposed to any possible infection whilst moving from primary caregiver premises to another. “The child shall stay in custody with the parent with whom the child was with when the lockdown was affected.”
She added that the parent who is not with the child may communicate with the child regularly to maintain a personal relationship.
Zulu said that she hopes co-parents can understand the extraordinary circumstances. “I know that many have been calling me directly to say, ‘But can’t we even exchange the children at a pharmacy so something of that sort’, but the bottom line is this, you need to be able to protect your children… it is for their own good and the good of the children.”
She concluded that if, at the end of the 21-day lockdown, there is still a concern about the coronavirus, then the department does have the space to relook at the regulations to determine if they are helpful or not. “For now, we need to make sure that everyone really complies with this because it is beyond the parents and the children themselves, it’s the entire nation that’s finding itself in a difficult period.”
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