COVID-19 REGULATIONS: MORE CLARITY

Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has issued a media statement confirming curfew hours and the closing times of venues and facilities listed in the 3 December consolidated disaster management regulations for lockdown level one, as amended on 15 December and again on 17 December. The 3 December regulations include a new chapter on hotspots, which are the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area, the Garden Route district municipality, and the Sarah Baartman district municipality.

In non-hotspot areas, 22:00 is the daily closing time for listed establishments, whether

indoors or outdoors. This allows an hour for everyone to be at home by 23:00, when the curfew in non-hotspot areas begins.

In hotspot areas, 21:00 is the daily closing time for listed establishments, whether

indoors or outdoors. This allows an hour for everyone to be at home by 22:00, when the curfew in hotspot areas begins.

In all areas countrywide, these hours apply to:

• all venues where social events are hosted, including concerts and live performances

• cinemas and theatres

• casinos

• museums, galleries and archives

• gyms, fitness centres and public swimming pools

• restaurants, bars, taverns, shebeens and similar establishments

• venues hosting sport, arts and culture activities

• faith-based institutions, and

• any other place where a gathering may take place.

On 24 December, the regulations were amended yet again to:

• allow access between 06:00 and 19:00 to any beach open to the public

• fully operationalise partially operational land border posts, and

• reopen the Kosibay port of entry from 1 January 2021.