President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed South Africans on Monday, December 14 during which he announced further restrictions in hotspot areas, as the number of COIVD-19 cases keep increasing.
Ramaphosa is concerned that the festive season poses a great threat to the health and well-being of the nation as a whole.
To ensure the people of South Africa are as safe as possible during the holiday season he announced that in areas with the highest rate of infection, beaches and public parks will be closed for the duration of the festive season, from December 16 to January 3. This will apply to all of the Eastern Cape, as well as to the Garden Route District in the Western Cape.
In KwaZulu-Natal, beaches and public parks will be closed on what are traditionally the busiest days of the season. This includes the 16th, 25th, 26th and 31st of December 2020 to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January 2021.
The following beaches will be closed to the public during the festive season:
Garden Route- Beaches and parks across the entire Garden Route region, including Mossel Bay, Knysna Plettenberg Bay, Witsand, Still Bay, Hartenbos and wilderness will be closed to the public.
Eastern Cape- Beaches and parks across the entire province, including Port St Johns, Port Alfred, Port Elizabeth, and Jefferys Bay will be closed to the public.
KwaZulu-Natal- As mentioned above, beaches and parks in KZN will be closed on what are traditionally the busiest days of the season. The beaches that will be affected include Golden Mile beach, Virginia Beach, Umhlanga Main Beach, Margate Beach, Zimbali Beach, Port Shepstone Beach, Sunset coast Beach, Sodwana Bay, and uShaka beach.
The good news is that the beaches and public parks in the Northern Cape and the Western Cape – with the exception of the Garden Route – will remain open to the public over the festive season, from 9am-6pm.
Alcohol consumption in all public spaces, such as beaches and parks, is strictly forbidden.
Picture Twitter/@Netcare911_sa
