{"id":402059,"date":"2020-05-27T07:54:31","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T05:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=402059"},"modified":"2020-05-27T07:54:31","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T05:54:31","slug":"confusion-around-whether-all-of-south-africa-will-move-to-level-3-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/402059\/confusion-around-whether-all-of-south-africa-will-move-to-level-3-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Confusion around whether all of South Africa will move to level 3 lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has cast doubt on whether some parts of the lockdown will remain at level 4 from 1 June.<\/p>\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday evening (24 May), that the whole of the country will move to level 3 lockdown from next week, 1 June.<\/p>\n

The president said that this will include the reopening of all districts, as well as key areas of the economy.<\/p>\n

However, in a National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday (26 May) Mkhize indicated that some coronavirus hotspots may remain at level 4 based on the number of coronavirus cases reported.<\/p>\n

The below slide from Mkhize’s presentation highlights the confusion.<\/p>\n

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In response to the confusion, a ministerial spokesperson told BusinessDay<\/a> <\/strong>that the whole country is moving to Level 3, but there can still be a determination made on 1 June to keep certain districts at Level 4.<\/p>\n

However, the spokesperson later backtracked and indicated that this was an error, and that Mkhize would provide clarity at a later date.<\/p>\n

Western Cape premier Alan Winde has also indicated that he will seek clarity from president Ramaphosa about Mkhize’s presentation.<\/p>\n

“I will seek clarity from the President on this matter as he was very clear in his address on Sunday that the whole country would move to level three, with the hot spots being re-evaluated every two weeks,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The province has not received any direct indication from national government that this was not the case. In any province, it would be very difficult to enforce some areas remaining on level four, while others drop down to level 3.”<\/p>\n

Hotspots\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his presentation on Tuesday, Mkhize said that high-risk areas – classified as hotspots – will remain at level 4 with intensive implementation of screening, testing and restrictions.<\/p>\n

He added that the country\u2019s districts will effectively be designated in one of three ways:<\/p>\n