President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation tonight at 8.30pm, as cases of COVID-19 continued to surge and pressure intensified on government to open the economy.
Former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was the latest senior figure in the country to question the rationality of the lockdown regulations.
Manuel was recently appointed Ramaphosa’s African Union (AU) special envoy to help the continent to mobilise resources to fight the global pandemic.
The DA and some academics have been leading the calls for the president to end the lockdown, arguing that it has served its purpose of giving the country an opportunity to prepare the health care system for the peak of the virus.
There have also been challenges to the constitutionality of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) on COVID-19.
Various organisations in different sectors of the economy – including alcohol and tobacco businesses – have been pushing government to relax regulations for resumption of economic activity.
In a statement, the Presidency said: “The President’s address follows a number of meetings of Cabinet and the National Coronavirus Command Council.”.
This comes as the total number of those infected by the virus sat at 11 350, with 369 697 tests conducted. Deaths related to the virus were at 206.
On Monday, Ramaphosa warned in his weekly letter that an increase in the number of new cases was expected as people returned to work, also noting that the virus would be with us for over a year or even longer.
