Table 4.
South African National Lockdown Alert Level Policy Implemented in the Period of the First National COVID-19 Epidemic Wave [27, 59–63]
| No Lockdown Summary (2020/03/05–2020/03/25), (21 Days) [27]: |
| Declaration of State of Emergency and establishment of National Coronavirus Command Council to oversee the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa |
| Alert Level 5 Summary (2020/03/26–2020/04/30), (34 Days) [59]: |
| South African border and air space were closed except for ports for the transportation of essential goods. Entry and exit screening at borders. Restriction on the movement of persons and goods. Persons confined to their residence with limitations to essential services. To enforce this South African Defence Force was deployed to oversee the compliance of this measure Gatherings were prohibited except for funerals. Movement between provinces, metropolitan and district areas is prohibited. Business Activities are restricted to essential services and goods. Essential services must be provided with social distancing and hygienic measures. Public transport is prohibited except buses (no more than 50% capacity), taxis (no more than 70% capacity) and e-hailing/private services (no more than 60% capacity) for essential services. Identified Essential goods were the following: Food, Cleaning and Hygiene Products, Medical, Basic goods (ie electricity), Fuel, and Hardware. Prohibition on evictions. Establishment of “COVID-19 Tracing Database” under the South African Department of Health. Establishment of screening and testing programs under the South African Department of Health. Isolation, Quarantine of potentially infected persons and contact tracing protocols through testing programmes. Use of PPE for healthcare workers (high type variation including Isolation PPE), essential services (moderate type variation) and the general population (low type variation in general masks) |
| Alert Level 4 Summary (2020/05/01–2020/05/31), (30 Days) [60]: |
| Similar to Level 5 regarding Movements of persons except walking, running, cycle between 06h00 to 09h00 within a 5 km radius of residence permitted, non-essential services in Table 1 of [60] permitted, a curfew was issued from 20:00 until 05:00 with most travel being restricted to the essential services. Movement between provinces, metropolitan areas and districts is prohibited with the additional exception of learner’s commute to higher education institutions permitted, return of dislocated persons to residences permitted, and movement of children permitted. Attendance at funerals is limited to 50 people. The sale, dispensing or transportation of liquor is prohibited except for industries producing sanitisers and disinfectants. The sale of tobacco, tobacco products, e-cigarettes and related products is prohibited. Table 1 services: 1) Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing 2) Electricity, Gas and Water Supply 3) Manufacturing 4) Construction 5) Retail trade 6) ICTS 7) Media 8) Financial and Business 9) Accommodation and Food 10) Transport and Storage 11) Mining 12) Repair and Related Emergency 13) Supply Chain 14) Household Employment 15) Public Administration and Government Services 16) Health, Social and Personal Services 17) Education. Table 1 Services must have a COVID-19 compliance officer, and develop a plan for phased return on employees and health protocols |
| Alert Level 3 Summary (2020/06/01–2020/08/17), (77 Days) [61]: |
| Similar to Level 4 regarding Movements of persons except curfew was issued from 23:00 until 04:00. Movement between provinces, metropolitan areas and districts is prohibited with the additional exception of interprovincial travel. All business activities are permitted with closing time for some services restricted to 22:00. Mandatory protocols when in a public place include wearing of face mask. The face mask is defined as a cloth face mask or a homemade item that covers the nose and mouth, or another appropriate item to cover the nose and mouth.’ Gatherings are limited to 50 persons for indoor facilities and 100 persons for outdoor facilities. For public transport, bus and taxi services (no more than 70% capacity if short distance travel and 100% capacity permitted for long-distance travel) are permitted. Long-distance travel is defined as 200 km or more. Sale, dispensing or transportation of liquor permitted with sales from 10:00 to 18:00 from Mondays to Thursdays for off-site consumption and 10:00 to 22:00 for on-site consumption and transportation of liquor permitted |
| Alert Level 2 Summary (2020/08/18–2020/09/20), (32 Days) [62] |
| Similar to Level 3 regarding Movements of persons except curfew was issued from 22:00 until 04:00. Specific economic exclusions: 1) Nightclubs. 2) International passenger air travel for leisure purposes. 3) Passenger ships for international leisure purposes 4) Attendance of any sporting event by spectators. 5) International sports events |
| Alert Level 1 Summary (2020/08/17–2020/09/20), (11 Days) [63] |
| Most normal activity can resume, with precautions and health guidelines followed at all times. Curfew was issued from 00:00 until 04:00. Gatherings are limited to 250 persons for indoor facilities and 500 persons for outdoor facilities |