South Africa to Balance Economy Risks as Virus Measures Weighed - BNN

A train guard stands on the platform at the Hatfield Gautrain station in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. South Africa’s only high-speed rail network is drawing up a multibillion rand plan to expand outside Johannesburg and Pretoria, joining a potential bonanza of infrastructure projects the government says are key to reviving the economy. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s government is weighing the risks that a stricter lockdown might pose to the economy as it considers tightening restrictions to curb surging coronavirus infections, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said.

The authorities are monitoring hospital admissions before any decision is taken on what new measures to introduce, Gungubele told reporters Thursday after a cabinet briefing. The presidency has yet to set a date when President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation, he said.

South Africa is currently in lockdown alert level 1. Last year, the government imposed alert level 5 restrictions that shuttered almost all economic activity except essential services.

“It is no longer in dispute the damage the restrictions at level 4 and 5 caused,” Gungubele said. “The attitude government is adopting is find the best possible way of navigating whilst ensuring the initiatives for livelihoods are intensified and the economy moves.”

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South Africa to Balance Economy Risks as Virus Measures Weighed - BNN
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