President Ramaphosa to address the nation, end of lockdown on cards!

President Cyril Ramaphosa returns to the screens at 8PM for another family meeting this evening, where he will unpack latest developments in South Africa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is a time where everyone has been waiting for, as President Ramaphosa is expected to announce the end of the long-awaited ‘State of Disaster’.

The country has been on a nationwide lockdown since March 2020, following the first reported case of Covid-19 in February the same year.

Scientists and health professionals have been calling for the national state of disaster to be lifted.

Last week, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said that the country will move forward with plans to lift the national state of disaster.

Dlamini-Zuma said Cabinet held a meeting on its approach to lifting the regulations and what additional rules will remain in place to aid the transition.

In today’s President address, it is alleged that Ramphosa will announce some rules that would likely remain in place for a further 30-day period.

These include regulations around wearing maks, limitations on gatherings, and the payment of the R350 social relief of distress grant.

The country’s state of disaster is currently set to expire on 15 April 2022, however, the President is urged to make a speedy announcement, as government has gazzetted to end the State of Disaster tomorrow, 5 April.