South Africa announces lifting of lockdown to ease severe economic pain
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has begun to ease one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, despite warning the outbreak is likely to get much worse.
Africa's most industrialised economy has been shut down since March 26, with only grocery stores, pharmacies and essential service suppliers allowed to operate.
The sale of alcohol and cigarettes has been strictly banned and South Africans have only been allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons, with the security services enforcing the regulations brutally.
However, despite such strict measures the number of cases has continued to grow, with more than a third of the country's 22,000 infections occurring in the last week.
“We should expect that these numbers will rise even further and even faster,” Mr Ramaphosa said in a televised address on Sunday evening. “The coronavirus pandemic in South Africa is going to get much worse before it gets better.”
Mr Ramaphosa initially enjoyed a broad coalition of support for the lockdown but as large parts of the South African economy have begun to collapse, he has come under huge pressure to lift the restrictions.
Before the lockdown, South Africa was already the most unequal country on earth and unemployment stood at a staggering 29 per cent.
But the last few weeks have been catastrophic for the country’s poorest, many of whom live hand to mouth in crowded slums. Queues of hungry South Africans have been stretching for miles outside government and charity food banks.
The government has launched an extraordinary 500 billion rand stimulus package (£21.3bn) — the equivalent of about 10 per cent of the country’s GDP — to bail out the economy.
However, the country’s central bank reckons that the South African economy will probably shrink by seven per cent this year.
The country’s chamber of commerce has also warned that unemployment could hit 50 per cent as businesses large and small buckle under the pressure.
In his speech, Mr Ramaphosa said that aside from a few exceptions where the risk of transmission is high, the economy could return to full capacity on June 1.
The curfew and restriction on outdoor exercise would be lifted, schools will begin to reopen and alcohol could be sold for home consumption. Tobacco sales will still be banned because of health risks.
So far there have been 429 recorded deaths of Covid-19 in the country of 57m.
Last week scientists at the South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium, an agency set up by the government, said that at least 40,000 people could die of the virus by the end of this year.
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