The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Monday, extended the recently imposed COVID-19 restrictions and shut the land border as the country grappled with an unprecedented surge of the increased cases of the new strain of coronavirus.
South Africa, which is African most industrialized economy and the worst hit of the coronavirus has gone back into partial lockdown last month to curtail flaring infection.
The country has banned the sales of alcohol to ease the pressure on emergency wards, prohibited large gatherings, shut parks, and imposed 9 a.m curfew to limit exposure.
On Monday, the President said those measures would be extended until further notice.
In an address to the country, Ramaphosa said, “Cabinet has decided to maintain the country on adjusted alert level 3
“Most of the measures that were announced on 28 December 2020 will therefore remain in place.”
In addition, the President said trave across the 20 land points of entry to South Africa would be restricted until mid-February.
Adding that cross-border fuel transportation, cargo and goods will still be allowed. However, several exceptions were made including travel for schools and medical reasons.
The decision to shut the land border was taken after thousands of people tried to cross into the country to avoid a new lockdown in neighboring Zimbabwe last week.
The rush had caused backlogs at the Beitbridge border post, South Africa’s second-busiest entry port.
It was reported that over 100 travelers caught the coronavirus as they queued for passport controls and COVID-19 test at the site.
The President caught South Africans to remain cautious and limit social interactions.
“Research… has shown that the massive increase in infections is largely driven by a variant of the virus,” he said.
“We know that this new variant… spreads much faster.”
