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South Africa has officially moved to Level Four lockdown restrictions, put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

COVID-19 infections in South Africa continue to rise and the virus poses a significant threat to our country. Government has thus taken a careful approach, consisting of five lockdown levels, to fully reopen the economy.

Level Four explained

South Africa moved from Level Five to Level Four on 1 May.

Government’s regulations for Level Four include:

With stress and anxiety levels increasing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, social workers from the Department of Social Development share some tips on how to cope.

I am starting to get cabin flu, what can I do?

This feeling can be expected, especially for those who would be active under normal circumstances.

Physical exercise can relieve boredom and keeps one healthy. You can also read or watch television programmes that are not related to COVID-19.

Vuk’uzenzele shares figures that have so far defined the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) experience and intervention made by the South African government in partnership business, religious groups and non-profit organisations.

• R356 million: The amount paid out by the Unemployment Insurance Fund by 9 April.
• 11 000: The number of water storage tanks delivered to communities in need, across the country, by 9 April.
• R2.2 billion: The amount raised by the Solidarity Fund by 9 April.
• 154: The number of shelters accommodating the homeless.

From the Union Buildings

Many countries around the world have imposed coronavirus lockdowns with a view to saving the lives of their citizens. We have done the same in our country, but our lockdown has revealed a very sad fault line in our society that reveals how grinding poverty, inequality and unemployment is tearing the fabric of our communities apart.

A young South African woman who has recovered from the coronavirus (COVID-19) says citizens of all ages and races need to take the deadly disease seriously and obey the regulations set by government.

Ncebakazi Willie (27), from the rural village of Xhora in the Eastern Cape, got the virus when she was working on a cruise ship in March.

“The cruise ship had stopped in Italy, where the virus was starting to get very serious. There were a lot of people dying there.”

When Willie returned to South Africa, she decided that she should get tested at her local hospital.

The Future Stars Theatre Project in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, has collaborated with a Pretoria-based music recording company to produce a dance that teaches the youth about the importance of hygiene during the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Future Stars’ Roger Ntuli (38) says the choreography brings to life a song about the virus that was recorded by Chaithoo Studio artists Ria, Diya, Dinesh ‘Mr D’ Chaithoo and Prince ‘Shembry’ Sithole.

Ntuli says the nine- to 14-year-old dancers came up with the choreography and the dance is being shared virally.

The uncertainty and financial strain being placed on entrepreneurs and small business owners by the global coronavirus pandemic is being alleviated somewhat by a host of public and private support schemes.

Small business owners and informal traders are amongst the South Africans who are most heavily impacted by the lockdown. In order to get through this difficult time, these business owners can take advantage of a number of interventions that government has put in place to assist them.

SMME Debt Relief Fund

Every person will be confined to their place of residence unless required to perform an essential service, shop for essential goods and medicines, collect a social grant or seek emergency, lifesaving or chronic medical attention.

All gatherings are prohibited, except for funerals, which may not have more than 50 people. Movement between provinces, metro cities and districts is prohibited.