South Africa's Ramaphosa eases COVID-19 restrictions to lift economy

FILE PHOTO: A man rides his bike past a mural by Senzart911 that shows people wearing facemasks, as South Africa scraps isolation for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) positive people with no symptoms, at Soweto's Kliptown, South Africa, February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said restrictive COVID-19 regulations that have weighed on the nation's struggling economy for two years would be removed on Wednesday, with the national state of disaster also to end soon.

The state of disaster currently regulates the country's COVID-19 rules and has been in place since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Its extension last week until April 15 drew criticism from businesses hard hit by its measures.