Level 3 lockdown ‘on the cards’: Experts DEMAND tougher restrictions for SA

Three leading professors have pleaded with the government to consider changing lockdown restrictions, in order to curtail large gatherings that accelerate the spread of COVID-19. With new variants of the disease entering the country, citizens must remain vigilant against the spread of this virus – even if that means returning to Level 3 of lockdown.

Experts ask for ‘limits on gatherings’ as a priority’

On Tuesday, both Dr. Asmal Dasoo (convenor of the Progressive Health Forum) and Alex van den Heever (chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies at Wits University) called for gatherings to be capped.

The pair believe that current limits, which can stretch to meetings of 500 people outdoors, will need to be dropped down to just TEN – to try and blunt the impact of a third coronavirus wave. As we reported last week, social gatherings – alongside restrictions on travel, land borders, and curfew hours – will be the first to change this winter.

Level 3 lockdown ‘may be deployed again’

Professor Adrian Puren of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), meanwhile, has entertained the idea of moving into Level 3 of lockdown BEFORE new infections properly take-off again. He has speculated that the tougher version of lockdown could be implemented on a local or district-based scale, while SA remains ‘mostly unvaccinated’.

“We have some idea of what we need to prepare for. If we go to a Level 3 lockdown or something like that, we must encourage testing. Each district needs to be looked at and managed appropriately. Hospitals need to be ready – and part of that is vaccination. Every South African has to follow the non-pharmaceutical interventions.”

Level 3 loading? Zweli Mkhize accepts lockdown restrictions ‘will be necessary’

It seems the implementation of tougher lockdown restrictions is now inevitable. Just last week, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize feared that the arrival of a ‘variant of concern’ could force the Cabinet’s hand. Lo and behold, mutations found in both the UK and India have now washed up on our shores – and more drastic containment measures are on the table:

“We have noticed a worrying trend of increasing numbers of detected cases in a number of districts and the arrival of a ‘variant of concern’ can drive another wave. For these reasons, the NCCC is deliberating on the issue of border control, and final determinations will find expression in Cabinet and be communicated to the public accordingly.” | Zweli Mkhize