It has been 9 weeks since the ban on the purchase of alcohol was announced in South Africa as part of Lockdown regulations. Filmmaker and photographer Martin de Kock from MDKafrica was on the scene Monday morning to capture these photos of the long queues of South Africans as bottle stores re-opened for the first […]

A total of 22 new COVID-19 related deaths – all in the Western Cape – have been recorded as the total number of positive cases in South Africa climbs to 34,357 on Monday. The 22 new deaths bring the total to 525 deaths in the Western Cape, increasing the national figure to 705. This means […]

South African Airways (SAA) has received approvals to operate several repatriation flights in June, including to and from destinations not on their usual routes. See list below. As SA’s national carrier, it was able to secure approvals to operate repatriation flights during Lockdown, despite the closure of borders. Since 3 April the airline has conducted […]

As South Africans grapple with a cigarette ban, it’s World No-Tobacco Day today – Sunday 31 May – and here are the latest insights on Tobacco and Covid-19 from the World Health Organisation (WHO). As tobacco kills up to half of its users, the WHO has released a global campaign #TobaccoExposed to debunk myths and […]

Hiking and self-drives in some of the country’s private and public national parks will be allowed from 1 June, the Minister of Tourism has announced. Hotels and guest houses will also be open, but not for leisure guests. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said that as an integral part of the economy, the tourism sector needed to open […]

The ANC Caucus says that “unwarranted racist and misogynistic attacks” on COGTA Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma have continued unabated despite several condemnations by the ANC leadership and progressive sectors of society. This comes after a Western Cape social media user posted a morphed photo depicting Dr Dlamini-Zuma as an ape. The ANC says: “We will […]

There is intense pressure on the South African government to lift the lockdown and open the economy. Sustainably lifting out of the lockdown is critical. But there is no roadmap. The stakes are high and there are no right answers, just ones that juggle uncertain probabilities. Diminishing growth over the past decade has weakened industry […]

Four airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban will open from Monday under Level 3 of the lockdown. The latest regulations specify who will not be allowed to travel, but not who will be. Earlier the government said that only business travel will be allowed, but there have been no further details. Regulations published today […]

Thousands of South Africans arrested for minor infringements of lockdown rules, and forced to pay admission of guilt fines (to stay out of jail), have now earned themselves criminal records. According to current affairs show, Carte Blanche, these people were going about lawful essential tasks of buying food, prepaid electricity and fetching their children. They […]

The Democratic Alliance says Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma apparently lied to South Africans when she justified the continued ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products, and if she did she deserves to be fired. The DA said in a statement today that in court papers responding to a […]

Parisians were Thursday night celebrating as the French Prime Minister announced relaxed regulations for the next phase of de-confinement, which begins on 2 June… just a day after South Africa’s level 3 kicks in, which has not been met with as much joy, but the two countries are at different stages on the curve. South […]

COGTA Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s Level 3 regulations for South Africa, released today, have been met with frustration and widespread shock and horror. The keyword in response seemed to be “irrational” with the DA adding that the regulations “lack scientific basis” and AfriForum demanding  the Minister recall them. The DA said it will use all […]

The government has released regulations about what is and isn’t allowed under Level 3 of lockdown, starting on 1 June, saying that exercise can take place between 6am and 6pm, and liquor can be sold Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm. The changes were announced today by ministers Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Ebrahim Patel. What still […]

The whole country will move to level 3 lockdown from 1 June, including areas identified as hotspots, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Mkhize clarified this after confusion was created when an old slide was presented stating hotspots would remain at level 4 and was also making rounds on social media. However, if these areas […]

A temporary Covid-19 hospital has been built in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha with the generosity of Doctors Without Borders/MSF Southern Africa, to handle the spillover of extra patients from Khayelitsha Hospital that are expected over the coming weeks. In chilling video footage (watch below), filmed by Western Cape amateur film maker Gershwin Christian Williams, the harsh […]

The dust seems to have settled around the matter of Professor Glenda Gray, who was critical of the unscientific nature of some of the lockdown measures, drawing the ire of a Department of Health official who said she should be investigated by the South African Medical Research Council. The council on Tuesday said that after […]

Churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship in South Africa may resume their services under level 3 of lockdown… with strict conditions in place, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday evening. In March, places of worship were forced to close their doors to congregants, as government implemented a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread […]

The family of a South African Airways (SAA) crew member, who sadly passed away on Sunday, have been left dismayed by rumours circulating in SA that she died from Covid-19. Through the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), the family has issued a statement laying claim to the facts surrounding the tragic death of the 39-year-old […]

Following on from yesterday’s revelation that over 1,000 South Africans are stranded just on the other side of SA’s borders – in neighbouring states from Namibia to Mozambique – the father of one such SA citizen has shared this heartbreaking letter with SAPeople readers. Letter from Raymond Cloete: “My son Richard went to visit his […]

The well-known Cape Town International Conference Centre is in the process of being converted into an 850-bed intermediate hospital for COVID-19 patients. Western Cape Premier Alan Winde conducted a visit today to see the progress at the site, and visited one of the completed wards. The facility will eventually provide at least 850 intermediate care […]

A group of caring family doctors in Cape Town, South Africa, have initiated a Masks for Medics crowdfunding campaign to raise crucial funds to provide PPE to healthcare workers caring for positive Covid-19 patients. While there have been campaigns to support frontline healthcare workers, this campaign is “focusing on the forgotten; the home-based carers, the […]

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has announced a total number of 22 583 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa. “A total of 583 855 tests have been conducted to date with 19 485 tests done in the past 24 hour testing cycle,” Mkhize said on Sunday. The Western Cape is leading with 14 740 people testing positive for […]

South Africa will ease lockdown restrictions to level 3 from 1 June, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech tonight. The sale of cigarettes is still banned. Under level 3, all business and retail activity is permitted, except where risk levels are high. Alcohol will be sold, but under restrictions and on specific days. Exercise […]

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa has reached the 20 000 mark, as the country’s death toll increased by 28 to 397 on Friday. According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, the total number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in is now 20 125 which increased by 988 new cases in the […]

Dr Anban Pillay, the acting director-general of the Health Department, has requested an investigation into the conduct of Dr Glenda Gray, the president of the Medical Research Council (MRC) in South Africa, claiming that she has “made a number of false allegations against government”. These concerns were described in a letter dated 21 May written […]