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A special Cabinet meeting held on Monday night, 31 January 2022, approved changes to the COVID-19 regulations for Adjusted Alert Level 1.
This follows meetings between the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC), which received updates on the management of COVID-19 in South Africa.
According to the Presidency, information gathered by the Department of Health’s system indicates that South Africa has exited the fourth wave on a national level.
Based on the pandemic’s trajectory and vaccination levels in the country, Cabinet has decided to make the following changes to Adjusted Alert Level 1 with immediate effect:
- Those who test positive with no symptoms do not have to isolate.
- If you test positive with symptoms, the isolation period has been reduced from 10 to 7 days.
- Contacts do not have to isolate unless they develop symptoms.
“The rationale for these amendments is informed by the proportion of people with immunity to COVID-19 which has risen substantially, exceeding 60-80% in several sero-surveys,” says the Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele.
Cabinet also reviewed the return of all schools to full-time learning.
Primary, secondary, and special schools will reopen daily without extended shutdowns. The regulatory provision for students in schools has also been removed for one-meter social distancing.
The Ministers of Health and Basic Education will issue directives to reflect on this new approach in the coming days.
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