SPORTS fans and music festival revelers can now attend stadiums to enjoy sport and party as long as they have been vaccinated or have a PCR negative test certificate not more than three days.
These are some of the restrictions that were announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday night March 22, 2022. Ramaphosa said the country will remain on adjusted alert level 1 and would not lift the National State of Disaster as yet as the health department was still consulting on a measure to replace the disaster.
The good news to soccer fans is that they can now attend soccer matches provided they have been vaccinated and the stadium has facilities to verify the vaccination certificates and PCR test. Stadiums can only take in half of the capacity of the stadium.
The same will apply to a venue for music festivals. And in a case where venues are not able to verify vaccination or Covid tests, then the limit will remain at 1000 people indoors and 2000 outdoors
"This change to the restrictions on gatherings will be of great benefit to the sporting, cultural, entertainment and events industries in particular. This means that if we are vaccinated or have recently tested negative, we will be able to return to watching sports in stadiums and attending music concerts, theatre performances, conferences and other events," he said.
Furthermore, from Wednesday, March 23, 2022, it will no longer be mandatory to wear your mask when you walk in public but people will still be required to wear masks when they are indoors such as in shops and workplaces.
The number of people allowed to attend funerals has also been relaxed from 100 to 200 people. But night vigils and after tears are still not permitted. There are also changes to visitors entering the country from beyond the borders.
Those entering the country will have to produce a vaccination certificate or Covid test and those who are not vaccinated will be offered vaccination on arrival.
"With these changes, almost all restrictions on social and economic activity will have been lifted. Going forward, our most important defences against the disease are, firstly, vaccination and, secondly, the observance of basic measures, such as wearing masks indoors.
"The further easing of the remaining restrictions will require that we increase the rate of vaccination among South Africans. The vaccine has been shown to significantly reduce severe illness," said the president.
He added information from health facilities has clearly shown that people who are not vaccinated stand a higher chance of being hospitalised or dying from COVID-19.
Vaccination was likely to reduce transmission at home and places like schools and universities where there is close contact, he said.
Ramaphosa said due to the changing nature of the pandemic, and due to the progress that has been made, the government intended to lift the National State of Disaster as soon as a public comment on the health regulations published by the Minister of health has been completed.
These regulations, when finalised, will replace the State of Disaster regulations as the legal instrument to be used to manage the pandemic.
All South Africans are invited to make comments on the draft regulations before the 16th of April. What should be clear is that the end of the National State of Disaster does not mean the end of the pandemic," he said.
