(3 minutes read)
- South African industry and the civil society are likely to make their voices louder to loosen its lockdown restrictions
- This follows the country’s official exit from its third wave of coronavirus infection
- This is the most opportune time for the government to take some steps since the economy is struggling with the world’s highest unemployment rate, feel a cross-section of industry leaders
South African industry and the civil society are likely to make their voices louder to loosen its lockdown restrictions. This follows the country’s official exit from its third wave of coronavirus infection. This is the most opportune time for the government to take some steps since the economy is struggling with the world’s highest unemployment rate, feel a cross-section of industry leaders.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the national seven-day moving average of new daily recorded cases, the test positivity rate and the testing rate were all falling in all provinces. The seven-day moving average of new daily reported cases dropped to just under a 10th of the peak in early July.
The stringent lockdown level 4 restrictions on June 27 in response to a devastating third surge of Covid-19 cases had taken a toll on the economy. The lockdown rules included a total ban on alcohol sales and an evening curfew. This dealt a further blow to businesses in the hospitality and alcohol sectors already reeling from the government’s response to the pandemic. The government began to ease lockdown measures, and the country is now on adjusted level 2 restrictions, which is a much relaxed dispensation. However, there are many businesses which have yet to start or partially opened.
The industry and civil society are of the opinion that since the country has come out of the pangs of the third wave, bringing back the economy to its previous stage was a logical step to restore buoyancy in the economy. The coronavirus pandemic has hit SA harder than any other African country. More than 2.9-million recorded cases and more than 87,000 registered deaths were reported from Covid-19
