Mayor Dan Plato welcomes reopening of hospitality sector to save livelihoods; urges ramped-up vaccinations to save lives

11 June 2021 

We note the announcement by President Ramaphosa to allow certain industries to reopen. This is a much-needed adjustment to the regulations as many businesses have been under severe strain. In Cape Town, we are playing our part to assist with the ramping up of the national vaccine rollout. The mass vaccination site opened recently at the CTICC by the City of Cape Town, Western Cape government, and medical aid group Discovery, aims to vaccinate 4000 people daily until December this year,' said Mayor Plato.

'We hope that sufficient vaccine supply by the national government is available to meet this goal. The City of Cape Town and Western Cape government are committed to supporting the speedy rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine to our residents,’ added Mayor Plato.

‘Registration for vaccinations for the 35-49 age group open on Thursday 15 July and we appeal to all those within that category to come forward as soon as possible. Getting to a point where further lockdowns are not needed is crucial to saving jobs. The City has held various vaccination registration drives across the metro to boost the numbers of those getting the jab and help us move closer to population immunity. The need for further lockdowns must continue to be balanced between the protection of lives and livelihoods. Businesses have been working towards a recovery phase and it is vital to support their ability to survive and adapt,’ said Executive Mayor Dan Plato.

Those in the 35-49 age group should be able to receive their vaccines from 1 August if national government remains committed to this timeline. Residents above age 50 are encouraged to continue coming forward to get vaccinated

It is understood that the stricter restrictions introduced 2 weeks ago were intended to curb the surge in new infections, which has been driven by the Delta variant. However, infections have remained persistently high due to the higher transmissibility of the new variant. There are currently 200 000 active cases of Covid-19.

While Gauteng accounts for more than half of the new cases of infection, an increase in cases is being recorded in four other provinces, namely the Western Cape, Limpopo, North West and Kwa-Zulu Natal.

We urge all residents to please continue adhering to the regulations so that the adjusted lockdown level 4 is not extended for a further period. The current extension of adjusted level 4 will be in place until 25 July.

The amended regulations under level 4 include:

- Curfew in place between 21h00 until 04h00 daily

- Non-essential establishments must close at 20h00

- Restaurants can reopen with a maximum of 50 patrons and smaller  venues can only have 50 percent of their capacity

- Alcohol sales remain prohibited

- Gyms can reopen with limited capacity

- All gatherings banned except for funerals, which are capped at 50 people in a socially distanced setting

- Public spaces such as beaches will remain open, but no gatherings allowed

- Inter-provincial travel is prohibited, except for essential purposes

- Wearing a mask in public spaces remains compulsory under national lockdown regulations

Issued by Greg Wagner, Spokesperson to the Executive Mayor, 11 July 2021