The National Coronavirus Command Council is considering moving South Africa to Alert Level 2 ahead of Easter, writes MedicalBrief.
Co-chair of the ministerial advisory committee (MAC). Prof Salim Abdool Karim says government should do so as a precautionary measure because of the upcoming Easter holidays. There is concern that a third wave of coronavirus infections will hit the country after Easter.
But Cabinet ministers who are part of the NCCC are lobbying for large church gatherings to be allowed over Easter because “churches have been behaving”, writes News24. According to the MAC advisory dated last week, sources said, the NCCC was advised to restrict gatherings to 50, impose a 22h00 curfew and restrict the sale of alcohol from Mondays to Thursdays, from 10h00 to 18h00. The NCCC was also advised to close big beaches and restrict interprovincial travel to avoid super-spreader events, which are expected over Easter.
Karim, who is also co-chair of the ministerial advisory committee (MAC), told TimesLIVE that he was “deeply concerned” about gatherings across all religious groups. “It's my view that we should go to a higher alert level and we should institute a few restrictions that would reduce the risk of super-spreading events through gatherings over the Easter weekend.
“I don’t know if we will have a third wave after Easter. But I don't want to wait to find out. I would rather take the precautions and reduce our chances of a third wave.”
[link url="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/coronavirus-command-council-advised-to-move-sa-to-level-2-as-it-mulls-over-hiking-church-gatherings-20210324"]News24 report (Restricted access)[/link]
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-03-24-covid-lockdown-move-to-higher-alert-level-before-easter-prof-salim-abdool-karim/"]Full TimesLive report (Restricted access)[/link]