Police will enforce strict adherence to the two-week, adjusted level 4 lockdown regulations announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday night, police minister Bheki Cele said on Tuesday.
This would include enforcing the mandatory wearing of masks in public places, the ban on social gatherings, and the prohibition of alcohol sales — on- and off-site — and the transportation of alcohol except for industrial purposes.
Also prohibited is leisure travel to and from Gauteng, which is now the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic. Gauteng recorded 8,925 new cases on Tuesday, or 32.7% of all cases in the country. Police will also be enforcing the new curfew, from 9pm to 4am.
Daily roadblocks will check that people entering and leaving Gauteng for work, medical reasons or to attend a funeral have the necessary permits, Cele said at a media briefing attended by various ministers responsible for enforcing the regulations.
“Law enforcement officers will play a critical role in ensuring mass compliance of the level 4 rules,” Cele said. “I however want to assure the country that while law enforcement is up to the task, their aim is not to arrest and criminalise people en masse.”
Transgressors would face police action, he warned. “Non-compliance of these regulations and some others gazetted in the Disaster Management Act will result in a fine or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both,” Cele said. “Police will continue to monitor compliance through targeted operations, which will be intensified in hotspot provinces.”
He noted that since March 27 2020 when the first lockdown was introduced, 465,098 people had been charged with the contravention of the act, of which 7,439 were arrested during adjusted alert level 3 that commenced on June 16 2021.
The military would not be involved in enforcing the law, Cele said. The medical corps of the SANDF were only assisting Gauteng with its health crisis. “The police are adequate to deal with those matters going forward,” he said.
Cele emphasised that mass gatherings were not only prohibited but also criminalised under adjusted alert level 4 and called on political leaders of all parties to act responsibly during this time. The organisers of such events would be arrested.
Cele said the vaccination of members of SAPS would continue, noting that Covid-19 had claimed the lives of 666 officers.
Co-operative and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is responsible for the regulations under the act, said the prohibition of social gatherings included cultural, political and faith-based gatherings, as well as those in cinemas, theatres, gyms, galleries and libraries. Hotels are allowed to remain open for accommodation, but are not allowed to operate a sit-down restaurant.
Update: June 29
This story now includes the latest Covid-19 data for Gauteng.
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