President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on 15 August 2020 that the whole of South Africa will move to Alert Level
2 as of midnight on 17 August 2020.
Nearly all of the restrictions on the resumption of economic activity across most industries can now be removed.
The restrictions that are being lifted are as follows:
All restrictions on inter-provincial travel.
Accommodation, hospitality venues and tours will be permitted according to approved protocols to ensure
social distancing.
Restaurants, bars and taverns will be permitted to operate according to approved protocols as to times of
operation and numbers of people.
Restrictions on the sale of tobacco.
The suspension of the sale of alcohol will be lifted subject to certain restrictions.
o Alcohol will be permitted for on-site consumption in licensed establishments only up until 10pm.
o Liquor outlets will be allowed to sell alcohol for off-site consumption from Monday to Thursday
during the hours of 9am to 5pm only.
Restrictions on family and social visits will also be lifted, although everyone is urged to exercise extreme
caution and undertake such visits only if necessary.
The restrictions that are still in place are as follows:
Current restrictions on international travel remain in place.
No gatherings of more than 50 people will be permitted.
Spectators aren’t permitted at sporting events.
The curfew remains in place between 10pm and 4am.
All indications are that South Africa has reached the peak and moved beyond the infection point of the curve,
with the number of new confirmed cases dropping over the last three weeks from a peak of over 12 000 a day
to an average over the past week of around 5 000 a day.
Members are cautioned to still comply strictly with all the Health and Safety Protocols for the Covid 19 pandemic
even though most of the restrictions have been lifted. The fact that the restrictions have been lifted does not
imply that the threat is gone. The virus will be in our midst for a very long time still to come.
The fact that most of the restrictions have been lifted means that more employees will return to work which will
mean that more employees will make use of public transport thereby increasing more people to being exposed
to the virus.
If people start to ignore the necessary safety measures to protect themselves and others, it is very possible that
a second wave of Covid-19 could evolve in South Africa, which could see a return to higher lockdown levels.