President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a 21-day lockdown with severe restrictions on travel and movement to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in South Africa.
The lockdown will commence from midnight on March 26 and is expected to continue for 21 days until April 16, during this time all South Africans will have to stay at home.
What are the goods that will be available during the lockdown?
Shops will only be allowed to sell food and basic goods during the lockdown, and South Africans won’t be able to shop for non-essentials.
• Any food product, including non-alcoholic beverages
• Animal food
• Chemicals, packaging and ancillary products used in the production of any food product
• Toilet paper, sanitary pads, sanitary tampons and condoms
• Hand sanitiser, disinfectants, soap, household cleaning products, and personal protective equipment
• Medical supplies
• Fuel
• Basic goods, like electricity and airtime
Note that no one will be allowed to buy clothes – even if the grocery store (for example Woolworths or Pick n Pay) usually sells clothes or homeware. No alcohol will be on sale anywhere during the three weeks.
Categories of essential services shall be confined to the following services:
• Medical and laboratory services
• Grocery stores, including spaza shops
• Disaster management, fire prevention, fire fighting and emergency services
• Financial services necessary to maintain the functioning of the banking and payments environment, including the JSE and similar exchanges, as well as insurance services
• Production and sales of the goods (related to food, cleaning and hygiene products, medical products, fuel and basic goods, such as airtime and electricity)
• Cleaning, sanitation, sewerage, waste and refusal services
• Electricity, water, gas and fuel production, supply and maintenance
• Transport and logistics in respect of essential goods
• Essential municipal services
• Critical jobs for essential government services as determined by the Head of National or Provincial Departments
• Birth and death certificates and replacement ID documents
• Care services and social relief of distress provided to older persons, mentally ill, persons with disabilities, the sick and children
• Funeral services, including mortuaries
• Wildlife management, anti-poaching, animal care and vet services
• Newspaper, broadcasting and telecommunications infrastructure and services
• Production and sale of any chemicals, hygiene products, pharmaceuticals for the medical or retail sector
• Private security services
• Accommodation used for persons rendering essential services, quarantine, isolation and the lockdown
• Services related to the essential functioning of courts, judicial officers, the master of the High Court, sheriffs, and legal practitioners required for those services
• Essential Sars services defined by the commissioner of Sars.
• Police, peace officers, traffic officers, military medical personnel and soldiers, correctional services officials and traffic management services
• Postal services and courier services related to transport of medical products
• Air-traffic navigation, Civil Aviation Authority, cargo shipping, dockyard services
• Gold, gold refinery, coal and essential mining
• Services rendered by the executive, members of Parliament, members of the Provincial Legislature, members of local councils, the Judiciary, traditional leaders, and national office bearers of political parties represented in Parliament
• Production, manufacturing, supply, logistics, transport, delivery, critical maintenance and repair in relation to the rendering of essential services, including components and equipment
• Transport services for persons rendering essential services and goods, and transportation of patients
• Commissioners of the South African Human Rights Commission, Gender Commission, and the Commission for the Promotion and Protections of the Rights of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities, and the public protector and deputy public protector.
Source: Local ward councillors
