ActionSA and Solidarity are among the organisations threatening legal action against the proposed changes to the amended State of Disaster regulations if accepted in their current form.
Solidarity has vowed to start “one of the largest court cases to date” against the proposed changes to the amended State of Disaster regulations if accepted in their current form. According to Rapport, the trade union says some of the stipulations are even more stringent and irrational than the original State of Disaster regulations.
Among those criticised by Solidarity are that patients could be forced to isolate in state facilities if they do not have access to a separate, en-suite bathroom in their home. Patients would also be required to have internet access and a cellphone and to use only disposable cutlery. And those identified may not refuse medical treatment.
Solidarity’s Connie Mulder says the government abandoned self-isolation and quarantine for non-symptomatic people in February. “Why are they again trying to implement rules for the contrary?” The union argues that the majority of the regulations are ” cut and pasted” from the government’s disaster regulations of 2020.
And ActionSA has given instruction to its legal team to prepare for an urgent High Court review should the regulations be made final in their present form. “The regulations are not in line with SA’s enforcement capabilities. With ambiguous enforcement mechanisms, enforcement will be subject to the whims of individual law enforcement. The implementation of the regulations will inevitably lead to unequal treatment before the law, as the consequence of compliance will be less severe for those with resources,” it said in a statement on the Politicsweb site.
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Court threats over South Africa’s ‘permanent State of Disaster’
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SA's COVID-19 state of disaster extended another month to mixed reactions