No masks outdoors: what the new lockdown rules say

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the easing of several restrictions as part of Covid-19 level-1 lockdown regulations.

Ramaphosa said the approach now is that both indoor and outdoor venues can now take up to 50% of their capacity, provided that the criteria for entrance are proof of vaccination or a Covid test not older than 72 hours.

The president said that following consultations and the recommendations of the National Coronavirus Command Council, cabinet has decided to ease restrictions on gatherings. He said the emphasis was on placing an upper limit on the number of people who could attend a gathering.

“But where there is no provision for proof of vaccination or a Covid test, then the current upper limit will remain – of 1 000 people indoors and 2 000 people outdoors.”

This change, he said, to the restrictions on gatherings will be of great benefit to the sporting, cultural, entertainment and events industries, in particular. “This means that if we are vaccinated or have recently tested negative, we will be able to return to watching sports in stadiums and attending music concerts, theatre performances, conferences and other events.”

The maximum number of people permitted at a funeral will increase from 100 to 200. As before, night vigils and after-funeral gatherings are not allowed.

The president also announced important changes to the regulation on the wearing of masks. “As before, it is mandatory to wear a cloth mask or similar covering over the nose and mouth when in public indoor spaces. However, a mask is not required when outdoors. This means that we still need to wear masks when in shops, malls, offices, factories, taxis, buses, trains or any other indoor public space. But we do not need to wear masks when walking on the street or in an open space, when exercising outdoors or when attending an outdoor gathering.”

Social distancing

Regulations on social distancing are also being changed, requiring that a space of one metre is maintained between persons in all settings, except schools.

Ramaphosa also announced changes to the regulations on international travel. “Travellers entering South Africa will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours. All unvaccinated travellers entering the country who want to be vaccinated will be offered a vaccination.”

On the national state of disaster, which was recently renewed for another month, the president said: “We intend to lift the national state of disaster as soon as public comment on the health regulations published by the minister of health has been completed.”

These regulations, when finalised, will replace the disaster regulations as the legal instrument that government uses to manage the pandemic. All South Africans are invited to make comments on the draft regulations before 16 April.