The best news in a long time was shared this evening by the Minister of Health Joe Phaahla, reported by Business Insider: 

1.  Masks no longer need to be worn inside buildings

2.  All limits on gatherings have been lifted

3.  Visitors entering South Africa do not need to be vaccinated to enter our country.

The repealed rules formed part of what is formally known as the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions, into which they were inserted on 4 May. They are:

• 16A: “Wearing of face masks to contain the spread of Covid-19”, which required a mask in any public-use indoor space or when on public transport
• 16B: “Regulation of gatherings to contain the spread of Covid-19”, which limited any gathering of more than 100 people to 50% of maximum venue capacity if everyone was vaccinated, or to an absolute maximum of 1,000 people indoors or 2,000 people outdoors if vaccination status was not checked.
• 16C: “Regulation of persons entering the country to contain the spread of Covid-19”, which demanded either vaccination certificates or recent negative PCR tests, or proof of recovery from Covid-19, from all travellers older than 12 entering South Africa.

The three sets of regulations, now scrapped entirely, had each contained clauses that would have allowed Phaahla to temporarily suspend their enforcement, then reinstate them again if he saw fit.

A Press Conference is expected to be called tomorrow to confirm the scrapping of the regulations.

 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein, My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein @MyCapeTownGuide

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