FIRST ADDRESS

From midnight on Thursday, 26 March 2020, South Africa is in lockdown for 21 days. This announcement was made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his second address to the nation on COVID-19, on 23 March.

He first addressed the nation on COVID-19 on 15 March, declaring a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act. He announced that government is taking ‘urgent and drastic measures to manage the disease, protect the people of our country and reduce the impact of the virus on our society and on our economy.’