Covid-19 patients who infect others may face murder charges
Members of the police and military may arrest residents who do not comply to the regulations.
If you knowingly expose another person to Covid-19, you may be prosecuted for assault, attempted murder or murder.
Effectively, this means that a person who is aware that he or she tested positive for Covid-19, must ensure that they do not infect others. Failure to do so could result in lifelong imprisonment – a sentence regularly imposed on murderers.
This is according to a Government Gazette notice issued on March 18. It listed regulations that bind all persons in South Africa in terms of the Disaster Management Act.
The same notice authorises “enforcement officers,”* such as members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force to arrest and detain those who do not adhere to the regulations.
This includes anyone who hosts or attends a gathering of 100 persons or more. Where alcohol is consumed, no more than 50 persons may attend such a gathering. Premises hosting gatherings must be large enough to ensure one metre of floor space per person.
Bars, shebeens, restaurants and other facilities selling alcohol may not do so after 13:00 on Sundays and public holidays. On weekdays and Saturdays, the cut-off time is 18:00. The consumption of alcohol after these times is also banned on premises where liquor is sold.
Click here for more on the alcohol ban.
Government has suspended visits to correctional centres, remand detention facilities, holding cells, military detention facilities and any social development facilities.
The regulations instruct national, provincial and local government to make funds available for combating the spread of the virus on as far as possible without hampering service delivery.
Where money is donated towards the cause of limiting the virus’ spread, donor money must be paid into the Reconstruction and Development Fund where it may be used only to implement coronavirus limiting measures and keep South Africans safe during the state of disaster.
Also read: Six months in jail for those who publish fake news about the coronavirus
- An “enforcement officer” is defined in the regulations as “a member of the South African Police Service, the South African National Defence Force and a peace officer as defined in section 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act.” The latter, in turn, is defined as “(including) any magistrate, justice, police official, correctional official… and, in relation to any area, offence, class of offence or power referred to in a notice issued under section 334 (1), any person who is a peace officer under that section.” Section 334 (1) states that the Minister of Justice may declare persons to be peace officers by virtue of their professions.
- Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
