Level 3 latest: You can now be jailed for these six ‘lockdown offences’

Level 3 lockdown is back with a bang. Booze is off the shelves, gatherings have been banned, and our list of virus hot-spots has soared from three to 26. Make no mistake, this second wave of COVID-19 is on a pathway to causing as much death and devastation as the first one – and for the authorities, it’s time to get tough.

Latest from the NCCC address

Leading the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) briefing on Tuesday, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma ratified the key factors from Cyril Ramaphosa’s address last night. She confirmed that the collective had gazetted the new lockdown laws, which serve as the most severe restrictions implemented in this country since July.

Ramaphosa has bemoaned the ‘lack of compliance’ shown by some sections of society. He warned the young that they’re not ‘invincible’ against this virus, and told the elderly that they would be unable to ignore this looming threat. The government has decided to step-up its enforcement of the laws, in quite dramatic fashion…

Lockdown offences: What can you be arrested for at Level 3?

You can be fined, or imprisoned for a maximum of six months, for the following Level 3 lockdown offences – which are implicitly outlined in the latest issue of the Government Gazette:

• Failing to wear a mask in a public place (when prompted to do so by a law enforcement official).
• Taxi drivers allowing over 70% capacity in their vehicles.
• Distributing liquor during the alcohol ban.
• Breaching curfew, and going out between 21:00 – 6:00, unless you have a genuine reason for doing so.
• Business owners ignoring laws on gatherings, social distancing, and maximum capacity.
• Preventing a police officer from effecting lockdown laws, as stipulated by the following:

“For the duration of the national state of disaster, any person who hinders or obstructs an enforcement officer in the exercise of his or her powers, or the performance of his or her duties in terms of these Regulations, is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine – and imprisonment.”

Government Gazette

@DlaminiZuma: Last night the President warned us of the dangers of the Coronavirus and he warned us that we have to stick to the health protocols and we have to change our behaviour. #COVID19

— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) December 29, 2020