There was another one of President Cyril Ramaphosa's 'family meetings' as he made a speech to the country again on Sunday night. There was some good news as he announced that most provinces have seen the number of cases dropping. However some cases like the Western and Eastern Cape are still seeing cases increasing.
However the government has lowered the lockdown from level 4 to level 3 which does bring some slight relaxations.
The curfew is now from 10pm to 4am, interprovincial travel is allowed, alcohol can be sold for offsite consumption from Mondays to Thursdays, and gatherings will be allowed up to 50 indoors or 100 outdoors.
The President also announced a range of measures to assist those who are struggling because of the difficult economic times.
The Social Relief of Distress Grant was a monthly payment of R350 that was available to unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 65 last year. This is now to be re-introduced until March 2022.
The number of people eligible has been increased because individual caregivers who receive a Child Support Grant will now be able to access this R350 grant as well.
Previously woman who were raising children alone were unfairly disadvantaged. As they received a child support grant for their children they could not receive the R350 grant - even though the child support grant is for the children's needs, not for the caregiver's needs.
Full details of the application process for the R350 grant are still to be announced. Careers Portal will publicise all the information once it is available.
