Mayor Dan Plato calls for total lifting of State of Disaster
1 October 2021
'We note the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa to move the country to adjusted Alert Level 1. The City of Cape Town adds its voice to calls by the Western Cape Government to end the lockdown entirely and place trust in the public to continue to be responsible. After more than 18 months businesses can simply no longer endure this back-and-forth of changing lockdown levels. They experienced severe strain with reduced income and job losses trying to adapt and survive in these very challenging circumstances. As we approach the summer and peak tourism season, we need to give the economy the best chance at recovery,’ said Executive Mayor Dan Plato.
‘We support the call made earlier this month by the Western Cape provincial government for a differentiated approach based on each province’s healthcare system. The Cape Town metro and Western Cape government are capable of adopting a more nuanced approach to balance an appropriate health response, but also help the economy recover quicker.
‘We reiterate that to move beyond the pandemic, we must greatly expand the vaccination rollout, but allow local areas to implement appropriate measures to mitigate the negative impacts as far as possible. From today and over the weekend, the City is participating in the Vooma vaccination drive to encourage many more people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. As seen in the statistics, those who are vaccinated have an additional defence against Covid-19, with significantly lower numbers being admitted to hospital or passing on from Covid-19,’ added Mayor Plato.
Nationally, 17 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 8,6 million fully vaccinated. However, the vaccination rate is too slow.
As reported by the Western Cape government had administered a cumulative total of 2 851 485 vaccines to healthcare workers, staff in the education sector and those within eligible age brackets, by 17:00 on 29 September 2021.
Additional data is available on the Western Cape Covid-19 data dashboard at: https://coronavirus.
In Cape Town, we are continuing to play our part to assist with the ramping up of the national vaccine rollout after the opening of mass vaccination sites, with 3000 vaccination sites across the country.
The amended regulations under adjusted Alert level 1 include:
Curfew adjusts to between midnight until 04:00 daily. These are the revised regulations:
- Non-essential establishments such as restaurants, bars and gyms may now close at 23:00 to allow patrons and employees to travel home before curfew.
- Gatherings increased to 750 people indoors and 2000 outdoors, or fifty percent of capacity in a smaller venue
- Alcohol sales on-site continue as per license conditions.
- The sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption will remain from Monday to Friday.
- Public spaces such as beaches will remain open
- Wearing a mask in public spaces remains compulsory under national lockdown regulations
Issued by Media Office, City of Cape Town, 1 October 2021
