A patient gets vaccinated against Covid by the Witkoppen clinic at the Kya Sands informal settlement in Johannesburg
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)South Africa has removed almost all remaining Covid restrictions following a sustained decline in infections.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday confirmed the country would end its national state of disaster, introduced in 2020 to manage the pandemic.
South Africa has experienced one of the world’s most severe Covid outbreaks, with more than 3.7 million infections and 100,000 deaths. However, cases have declined dramatically in the past month with the daily toll falling to zero for the first time last Saturday.
“While the pandemic is not over, while the virus remains amongst us, these conditions no longer require we remain in a national state of disaster,” Mr Ramaphosa said in a televised address.
Infections have fallen from a daily peak of more than 26,000 in mid-December to a seven-day average of 1,303 on April 4. South Africa has been in an adjusted “Level 1” lockdown, or the lowest of a five tier system, since October.
All measures will be scrapped from Tuesday, though the requirement to wear masks indoors will remain for another 30 days. Travellers entering the country will still need to show proof of vaccination.
Last month, South Africa eased Covid restrictions for vaccinated travellers, dropping mandatory negative test results for those who are fully jabbed.
Businesses had criticised Mr Ramaphosa’s government for continuing to impose restrictions amid stable hospitalisation rates and low infections.
However, South Africa’s vaccination rate remains low with under a third (30.2 per cent) of residents fully jabbed as of April 1, according to Our World in Data.
The lifting of all restrictions marks a significant moment for South Africa after four significant waves of infection.
In December, the UK imposed a travel ban on South Africa and a number of neighbouring countries following the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Mr Ramaphosa’s government criticised the decision, saying it would cause disproportionate harm to the country’s economy.
A total of 169 people were in intensive care units (ICU) as of April 2, compared to a peak of 741 on January 1 at the peak of the Omicron wave.
