South Africa’s government recently announced relaxation in the covid-19 restrictions in view of coming festivals.
As many as 250 individuals can now attend indoor activities and 500 outdoors, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated in an address to the nation on Tuesday night. The raised limit will likely be reviewed in 15 days, allowing festivals such as Easter and Passover to come and go under eased restrictions.
The decision came after days of debate about how South Africa should address an upcoming holiday period that sees millions of individuals travel to see family and friends and attend religious ceremonies. Whereas active Covid-19 case numbers have dropped dramatically since January, the nation lags behind emerging-market peers in vaccinations, with only 240,000 health employees inoculated to date.
That’s raised fears of a third wave of the pandemic currently gripping much of mainland Europe. But despite imposing one of the strictest lockdowns worldwide a yr ago, South Africa has been more hesitant to close business activity lately to allow the economy to recuperate.
