On 15 March, PresidentCyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster with a partial travel ban, travel advisories, discouraging public transport, the closing of schools, and prohibiting gatherings of more than 100 people.[7]
On 23 March 2020, Ramaphosa issued a national lockdown lasting 21 days from 26 March 2020 to 16 April 2020.[8]
As of 2 April 2020[update], there were 1462 confirmed cases and 5 confirmed deaths.[4]
On 7 March, it was announced that a woman from the same travel group from Italy, returning to Gauteng, also tested positive.[16]
On 11 March, 6 new cases were reported, with 1 case from the same travel group from Italy, while the other 5 cases appear unrelated having travel histories to other European countries. The first case was confirmed in the Western Cape province.[17] 3 new cases were announced on the 12 March, including the first case in Mpumalanga province. The first local transmission and first case in the Free State province was also announced, but withdrawn later in the day by the NICD who confirmed that the case's test result was in fact negative.[18] This brought the total cases to 16.[19][20][21]
Third week
On 15 March, the first local transmissions, not yet confirmed by government labs, were announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.[7] and the following day, the first confirmed case from Limpopo province was announced.[22] The day there after, on 17 March, the first confirmed cases of local transmission were announced by government labs, 4 in Gauteng, 3 in KwaZulu-Natal, and 1 in the Western Cape.[23] On the next day, 18 March, the first confirmed case of local transmission in Mpumalanga was announced by government labs.[24]
On 19 March, the Health Minister suggested that two thirds of the South African population could contract the virus, a prediction in line with Europe's estimates on population infection.[25]
On 20 March, the Free State province recorded seven cases, becoming the sixth of South Africa's nine provinces to be infected.[26] Of the seven cases, five were from abroad (Israel, France and Texas) who had congregated for a church gathering attended by 200 people.[27]O. R. Tambo International Airport instituted isolation of foreigners on arrival and returning them to their countries of origin.[28]
Fourth week
On 21 March, the confirmed number of cases reached 240 with the Eastern Cape reporting its first case, making it the seventh of the nine provinces to report a case.[29] By 24 March all nine provinces had confirmed cases, with the first cases in the Northern Cape and North West being announced,[citation needed] a national 21 day lockdown as announced by the president to begin on the 27 March.[8]
On 30 March a total of 310 people in the Western Cape had been diagnosed with 256 of those being located in Cape Town.[30]
COVID-19 confirmed cases in South Africa by province (
Greenmarket Square in Cape Town seven days before (left) and on the first day (right) of the COVID 19 national lockdown. After the lockdown the market stall traders that normally setup on the square everyday are not present and only people exempt from the lockdown (security personnel and municipal employees) can be seen.
On 23 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation and announced a 21-day national lockdown effective from midnight 27 March through to 16 April,[8] with the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to support the government.[8]
People deemed necessary to the effective response to the pandemic such as health workers, pharmacies, laboratories, emergency personnel;[81][82] the security services (police officers, military personnel, and private security[83]);[81][82] as well as people regarded as necessary to the basic functioning of the economy (supermarkets, transportation and logistical services, petrol stations, banks, essential financial and payment services)[81][82] in addition to certain industries that can not be economically shut down (such as mines and steel mills)[83] are exempt from the lockdown. Restaurants, taverns, bottle stores and all other stores not selling essential goods are to close during the lockdown period.[83] Schools were closed a week before the lockdown period and will reopen after the lockdown. Non-exempt people are only allowed to leave their homes during this period to access health services, collect social grants, attend small funerals (no more than 50 people) and shop for food.[84] See the South African Government Gazette 25 March 2020 for a complete list of exemptions and non-exemptions during the lockdown period. South Africans have been ordered not to take their dogs for a walk during the lockdown, though they may walk them around their house or apartment building.[85]
The use of force by police and army personnel was controversial with multiple reports of excessive force in enforcing the lockdown.[86][87][88] By the fifth day News24 had reported that three people had died due to alleged excessive force by security officials enforcing the lockdown, equaling the number of people that had died of the virus in South Africa by that date.[89]
Medical screening was performed prior to departure, four South Africans who were showing signs of coronavirus were left behind to mitigate risk. Only South Africans who tested negative were repatriated.[94]
Test results cleared all the South Africans, including the flight crew, pilots, hotel staff, police and soldiers involved in the humanitarian mission who, as a precautionary measure, all remained under observation and in quarantine for a 14-day period [95][96] at The Ranch Resort.[97][94][98]
Gatherings limited
On 15 March, gatherings of more than 100 people were prohibited.[7]
All schools will be closed from 18 March 2020 until after the Easter season,[7] resuming on 17 April, with the June holidays shortened by a week and the September holidays shortened by 3 days.[100]
The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) cancelled all scheduled cases from 18 March 2020 and prohibited walk-in referrals of new cases. Only electronic referrals accepted. See www.ccma.org.za
Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) suspends Friday prayers but keeps mosques open. As of Sunday, 22 March, mosques have closed but the call to prayer will still be given.[135]
Agricultural events such as the Pietermaritzburg Royal Show, SA Cheese Festival, Qualité Awards Dinner, and Agri-Expo Western Cape Youth Show, cancelled.[147]
The City of Johannesburg, all public facilities closed indefinitely including public swimming pools, recreational and civic centres, stadiums, libraries, sporting facilities, and the Johannesburg Zoo.[150]
The Ethekhwini Metropolitan Municipality closed all of Durban's public facilities including swimming pools, beaches, libraries, community halls, and museums while restrictions have been put in place for the Durban Art Gallery and cemeteries to only allow 50 people at a time.[151]
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that from 18 March 2020, a travel ban will be imposed on foreign nationals travelling from high-risk countries and that visas for travellers from those countries have been cancelled.[7]
Countries with confirmed cases (red) and deaths (black)
Effective as of 15 March 2020, the government advised against all travel to China, the EU, Iran, South Korea, UK, and the USA; and discouraged all non-essential domestic travel, particularly by air, rail, taxi, and bus.[7]
At the beginning of the national shutdown on the 27 March South African economists predicted that the pandemic could cause a 2.5% to 10% contraction of South Africa's total GDP in 2020.[156] The national lockdown and resulting economic slowdown reduced demand for electricity by more than 7 500 MW thereby temporarily reducing the impact of the long running South African energy crisis.[157]
Stock market news
The JSE lost 15% of its value in the week ending 13 March 2020, its worst week in 21 years.[158]
Retailers like Clicks, Pick n Pay, and Woolworths have some limitations on the number of the same items customers may buy.[160] On 19 March, Minister of Trade and IndustryEbrahim Patel signed a government gazette that enforces price controls on essential items and that could see price gougers punished with measures including a R10 million fine, a fine equivalent to 10% of a firm's turnover, or 12 months in prison.[161] On 22 March, Standard Bank announced a 90-day payment holiday for small and medium-sized business and students to try and shield them from the economic impact of the outbreak, starting from 1 April.[162]
Notes
^61 cases announced by president Ramaphosa later in the evening.
^Free State case found to be not positive after confirmation test.[36]
^61 cases announced by president Ramaphosa later in the evening.[7]