SA’s lockdown extended for two more weeks

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that SA’s lockdown will be extended by two weeks.

The lockdown was implemented to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The initial lockdown would have only been for 21 days, but Ramaphosa, in a televised address to the nation on Thursday evening, said SA was at the beginning of a monumental struggle and could not be complacent.

He said the decision to extend the lockdown was not taken lightly.

The lockdown took effect at midnight on Thursday March 26 and would have been lifted next week Thursday 16 April at midnight.

His address to the nation followed a meeting of  the national coronavirus command council held on Wednesday and further consultations with various social partners, the presidency said earlier on Thursday.

By Thursday, more than 1.5-million people globally had been infected with the novel coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker, while more than 90,000 people had died.