South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the country’s national state of disaster was terminated…reports Asian Lite News
In light of the shrinking Covid-19 cases, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the country’s national state of disaster was terminated. The national state of disaster was terminated on Monday at 12 a.m.
“While the pandemic is not over, and while the virus remains among us, these conditions no longer require that we remain in the national state of disaster. Going forward, the pandemic will be managed in terms of the National Health Act,” he announced in a televised address.
After 750 days under the national state of disaster to combat the pandemic, Ramaphosa said the government decided to end the national state of disaster, Xinhua news agency reported.
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The declaration of the national state of disaster in March 2020 empowered the government to take the measures that prevented many more people from becoming severely ill and saved countless lives, the President added. The Disaster Management Act provides that certain elements of the regulations may remain in place for a limited period for “post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation,” he said.
South Africa has been the worst affected African country during the pandemic. Figures released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Monday showed the country has recorded 3,667,560 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 100,052 deaths.