South African Govt Extends Covid-19 National State of Disaster

Cooperative Governance, and Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has gazetted the extension of the National State of Disaster by another month, to November 15, 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the country placed in a National State of Disaster since March 2020. The extension follows consultations and approval by Cabinet. "The decision to extend the State of National Disaster was not taken lightly. Consideration of the material conditions within the context of the Risk-Adjusted Strategy motivated the decision to endorse this further extension. It is important to note that the current measures contained in the regulations to deal with the disaster, in the context of the Risk-Adjusted Strategy, are needed beyond 15 October 2020," the department said. The decision comes after 1,877 new infections of Covid-19 were identified on October 15, 2020. To date, 696,414 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the country, with 18,151 fatalities.