South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced in a live televised address that there will be a nationwide lockdown from midnight on Thursday in order to control the outbreak of coronavirus.
It will last for 21 days.
This means that all South Africans are required to “stay at home except for essential purposes”, a tweet from the president’s office says.
President #Ramaphosa: As a consequence, the National Coronavirus Command Council has decided to enforce a nation-wide lockdown for 21 DAYS with effect from midnight on Thursday 26 March.
#COVID19 #CoronaVirusSA pic.twitter.com/spxfeqwBWp— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) March 23, 2020
There are 402 cases of coronavirus in the country – the highest number in sub-Saharan Africa. No deaths have been recorded so far.
