Three weeks, they said. We’re just flattening the curve, they said. Well, here we are two years later – and the National Lockdown is officially over. This certainly doesn’t mean we’ve reached the ‘end of COVID’, but it’s a start.
Last night, Health Minister Joe Phaahla published a letter in the Government Gazette repealing the regulations put in place back in March 2020. The repeal comes sooner than expected, as rumours were flying around that the end of COVID regulations would only arrive later. This is because SA’s Cabinet was set to meet and discuss the repeal. But hey, we’re not complaining over here.
“I Mathume Joseph Phaahla, Minister of Health hereby repeal Regulations 16A, 16B, and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions… in their entirety. The repeal of the Regulations concerned will come into operation on publication in the Gazette,” says the letter of repeal.
Nobody cared who I was until I took off the mask
The letter mentions Regulations 16A, 16B, and 16C are being repealed. These deal with mask-wearing (16A), the limiting of public gatherings (16B), and finally the regulations on international travel (16C). This means that you can walk around without masks, gather with as many people as necessary, and travel to your heart’s content.
Of course, you shouldn’t stop being cautious. COVID is still very much a threat to some, and the lifting of regulations shouldn’t mean you become careless.
The Health Minister wasn’t able to end the National Lockdown all on his own. First, he needed to get the opinion of the provincial health MECs before making the decision. The letter in which he asked for their views was leaked on Monday evening by several doctors close to the matter.
At long last coming to grips with the reality. Effective end of Covid restrictions. Now to work on the collateral economic and other damage of what was self inflicted due to stubbornness of not following the science. pic.twitter.com/Z57XHOVd9k
— Shabir Madhi (@ShabirMadh) June 20, 2022
The end of the Lockdown was in sight. And now, it’s official.
Decline in COVID
The minister said his department have been keeping an eye on the epidemic with the help of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. As early as mid-June, stats showed that;
- Reported cases declined
- Hospitalisations declined
- Effective reproductive rate of the virus declined to under 0.7%
- Positivity rate declined, though the number of tests done is also low
- Reported deaths declined
It was these stats that convinced the Health Minster to repeal the regulations.
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Experts on the matter have been calling for the easing of these regulations for months. Data showed that nearly 80% of the South African population had some kind of immunity to COVID. This is due to vaccines, previously having the virus, or both.
Vaccinology Professor Shabir Madhi from the University of Witwatersrand believes the epidemic hit a turning point in March of this year. He still believes that South Africa should be focusing more on vaccines, and needs to start pushing for more vaccinations of people over 50.
It will certainly take some time for South Africans to adjust to the new ‘new’ normal. It needs to start somewhere. This is as good a place as any.