Breaking: South Africa Announces 21-day Nationwide Lockdown

Ololade Adeyanju/

Th South African government has announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus.

This was contained in a statement shared on Twitter this evening via @GovernmentZA.

It reads’, “The nation-wide lockdown will be enacted in terms of the Disaster Management Act and will entail the following:

“From midnight on Thursday 26 March until midnight on Thursday 16 April, all South Africans will have to Stay At Home.

“Individuals will not be allowed to leave their homes except under strictly controlled circumstances, such as to seek medical care, buy food, medicine and other supplies or collect a social grant.

“A nationwide lockdown for 21 days is vital to protect the health and safety of the South African public.

“To alleviate congestion at payment points, old-age pensions and disability grants will be available for collection from 30 and 31 March 2020, while other categories of grants will be available for collection from 01 April 2020.

“We are supporting the vulnerable. Following consultation with social partners, we have set up a Solidarity Fund, which South African businesses, organisations and individuals, and members of the international community, can contribute to.”