The African National Congress (ANC) has welcomed the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the lockdown period will be extended.
President Ramaphosa made the announcement in his address to the nation at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday.
His decision followed an extensive meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council that was held on Wednesday as well as consultations that the he held with various social partners earlier in the week.
Most of the existing lockdown measures will remain in force until the end of April.
The ANC says it fully concurs with the President that ending the lockdown too soon risks a resurgence of the infection rate.
“We commend the people of our nation for their discipline and compliance since the lockdown was announced two weeks ago.”
The party adds: “This has demanded a lot of sacrifices on the part of individual citizens, whose personal freedoms are severely curtailed, but have rallied behind government’s drastic measures intended to defeat the invisible enemy. As a nation, we must do everything we can to prevent the possible loss of lives that will certainly occur if we do not act.”
The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the intention of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet to extend the nationwide lockdown until late April to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus in South Africa.
“We would prefer a gradual phasing out of the current lockdown over the coming weeks as opposed to a continuation of the severe and economically-crippling regulations we currently see.”
The party adds: “Our great concern is that President Ramaphosa has justified this extension as if we face a binary choice between health concerns and economic concerns.”
