Govt extends state of disaster by a month to 15 September

A new government gazette published by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma confirmed the extension of the national state of disaster to 15 September.

Legally a state of disaster declaration is only valid for 90 days, with the previous state of disaster having expired on 15 June.

The current state of disaster was set expire at midnight on Saturday, and without an extension several regulations, including the liquor and tobacco bans would have also expired.

This follows the Presidency’s announcement on Saturday, 15 August that Ramaphosa is set to address the nation at 8pm on developments in South Africa’s continued lockdown, meant to manage the spread of Covid-19.

Ramaphosa chaired meetings of the national coronavirus command council (NCCC) and Cabinet on Tuesday, where the overwhelming argument was in favour of fully reopening the economy.

Image: Twitter / @abramjee

Earlier this week, minister of health Dr Zweli Mkhize argued that it is still too early to lift the national state of disaster, which he recommended should continue.

During an interview on the SABC on Tuesday, 11 August, Mkhize had said the national coronavirus command council (NCCC) was preparing submissions and will make recommendations on the easing of some restriction, which, along with thorough analysis of scientific-based advice, trends analysis and contributions from various sectors, would inform Ramaphosa who would then give guidance on the easing of restrictions.

The minister cautioned that the country was not out of the woods yet having seen a downward decline of Covid-19 numbers in all the provinces, in particular, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.

As of Friday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is 579,140.

A further 286 Covid-19 related deaths were recorded – 42 from Eastern Cape, 20 from the Free State, 26 from North West, 76 from Gauteng, 54 from KwaZulu-Natal, 22 in Mpumalanga, 18 from Northern Cape and 28 from Western Cape.

This brings the total Covid-19 related deaths to 11,556.

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