South Africa will loosen its coronavirus lockdown starting May 1. President Cyril Ramaphosa said they will allow a partial reopening of the economy.
In South Africa, the coronavirus lockdown will start easing next week. Travel restrictions and some industries can operate again under a five-level risk system.
Ramaphosa delivered a statement in a cautious tone. He emphasized that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic had yet to happen. He told the public to remain vigilant.
South Africa put the country under restrictions. This kept most of the population of about 58 million inside their homes. Because of this, many people struggled without wages and are short of supplies.
“Pressures to ease the lockdown are growing on the ground but that comes against the biggest daily rise in positive cases,” said political analyst Daniel Silke.
“Politically, these are unprecedented circumstances. It’s easier to impose a lockdown but unravelling restrictions poses many more dangers,” Silke said.
Ramaphosa received commendation for his fast move to implement a national lockdown. He also extended it in late March. However, the economic impact deepened. Criticism grew and sporadic protests and calls to ease regulations emerged.
Ramaphosa said the National Coronavirus Command Council decided to lower restrictions from level five, the strictest lockdown stage, to level 4 from next Friday.
Travel restrictions
Moreover, international borders are still closed. One can only travel if it involves essential services. Meanwhile, people should still observe social distancing rules. The government will use a monitoring system to determine which sectors can already operate.
“We have to balance the need to resume economic activity with the imperative to contain the virus and save lives,” Ramaphosa said.
“We cannot take action today that we will deeply regret tomorrow, we must avoid a rushed reopening that could risk a spread which would need to be followed by another hard lockdown.”
The country has reported 3,953 confirmed cases, including 75 deaths with 143,570 people tested for the virus.
South Africa recorded the highest one-day leap in infections with 318 new cases on Thursday. However, the health ministry said this happened due to intensified screening.
Ramaphosa did not disclose details about the 500-billion rand rescue package he announced on Tuesday. Moreover, he pointed out that it was a priority to restart the recession-hit economy while widening testing.
The stimulus package is about 10% of gross domestic product. This is South Africa’s first since the global financial crisis a decade ago. In addition, the package includes 40 billion rand worth of unemployment benefits and 50 billion rand worth of social grants for the poor.
Economic recovery
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he global economy may not recover from the coronavirus outbreak next year.
The economic damages brought by the coronavirus pandemic can push half a billion people into poverty, according to the new report released by Oxfam.
“I think if you compare that to the global financial crisis … the response has been just that much speedier and the scale of it has been that much bigger,” said Gita Gopinath, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
She noted that economies around the world have announced about $8 trillion worth of fiscal stimulus.
