South Africa has been placed on extreme lockdown for at least two weeks in order to combat a deadly third wave of Covid-19 connected to the highly transmissible Delta form.
President Cyril Ramaphose announced the new wide-ranging lockdown during a countrywide address on Sunday, claiming that the country is facing a major rise in diseases.
Gauteng, South Africa’s economic engine, is currently in the center of the third wave.
However, scientists believe it would only be a’matter of days’ before the Delta variant’s impact spreads to neighboring provinces.
The restrictions are among the most stringent announced since the outbreak began.
Except for funerals, all meetings indoors and outdoors will be restricted, and a curfew has been imposed between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Alcohol sales are outlawed, as is travel in and out of the worst-affected Gauteng province; restaurants will only be open for take-out and delivery; and schools will be closed.
