COVID-19: South Africa President Orders Nationwide Lockdown

South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has ordered a 21-day country-wide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

He ordered South Africans to “stay at home” until midnight on April 16 this evening.

Ramaphosa in his address said, “Immediate, swift and extraordinary action is required if we are to prevent a human catastrophe of enormous proportions

“While this measure will have a considerable impact on people’s livelihoods, on the life of our society and our economy, the human cost of delaying this action would be far greater.”

South Africa has confirmed 402 COVID-19 infections, the most in Africa.

The first one was detected on March 5. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has warned as much as 70% of the population could contract the illness over time.

While Ramaphosa declared a national disaster a week ago and instituted travel bans, shut schools and banned large gatherings, those measures have failed to slow the pandemic’s spread.