Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu has confirmed to the media that the highly anticipated media briefing to explain the full regulations of lockdown Level 3 will take place on Thursday afternoon. COGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will lead proceedings.
NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA TO BRIEF THE NATION
This comes after Dlamini-Zuma’s planned speech was postponed twice in the space of 24 hours. But Mthembu grabbed the bull by the horns this afternoon, and guaranteed a ‘Thursday delivery’.
NDZ will lead the briefing, and the final say on how certain restrictions will be lifted ultimately lies with her and the National Coronavirus Command Council. In the same address for Level 4 last month, Dlamini-Zuma performed a u-turn on the cigarette ban. South Africa will hope that similar dramas can be avoided.
WHY WAS THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR LEVEL 3 REGULATIONS POSTPONED?
The minister also explained what had pushed the previous two start times back, claiming that the amendments to laws regarding religious gatherings meant that ‘changes had to be made’.
“The President’s announcement yesterday regarding the opening of the religious sector under certain conditions, meant that changes had to be made to the Regulations which will now be released tomorrow.”“As a country, we are in quite a dicey situation. We are therefore working with everyone to ensure that we come up with the best solution to take South Africa forward.”
WHAT TIME WILL THE LEVEL 3 REGULATIONS BRIEFING TAKE PLACE ON THURSDAY 28 MAY?
Mthembu says the details are comprehensive and leave little room for doubt. He assured the media that the briefing will get underway at 14:00, and will be followed by a presentation from the socio-economic cluster.
“We confirm that the media briefing for alert Level 3 regulations will be tomorrow afternoon. All clusters will then also brief the nation on our preparedness for alert Level 3 in the next coming days.”
“We are now confident that come tomorrow, regulations for all sectors which will be operational under alert Level 3, including the religious sector, will be made available tomorrow. These will give a concrete implementation plan for Alert Level 3.”
