Faizel Patel – 01/02/2021
President Cyril Ramaphosa says nobody will be forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
The president addressed the nation on Monday on the latest developments regarding the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The speech comes as the country prepares to roll out a historic COVID-19 vaccine inoculation programme targeting at least 40 million South Africans by the end of this year.
Ramaphosa received the first one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday afternoon.
He says it is in the best interests of all that as many of us receive the vaccine as possible, but nobody will be forced to get vaccinated.
“I want to be clear. Nobody will be forced to take this vaccine. Nobody will be forbidden from travelling, from enrolling at school, or from taking part in any public activity if they have not been vaccinated.Nobody will be given this vaccine against their will, nor will the vaccine be administered in secret. Any rumours to this effect are both false and dangerous.”
Ramaphosa also eased some of the level 3 lockdown regulations saying faith-based gatherings will be permitted, subject to health protocols.
“Such gatherings may not exceed 50 people for indoor venues and 100 persons for outdoor venues. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue may be used.”
Ramaphosa says the hours of the curfew will now be from 11pm to 4am.
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