The President clarified government’s stance during his oversight visit to Mpumalanga on Friday where he assessed the province’s state of readiness for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Another hard lockdown is not being considered for now, the issue of jobs lost concerns us. Other countries are experiencing even bigger losses. We are developing various other ways of responding to this,” said the President.

The exponential increase in COVID-19 cases ignited fierce debate across society with a hard lockdown proposed as a measure to curb the country’s rising infections.

President Ramaphosa said government would rather consider other options in the “toolbox” in fighting the pandemic.

He said the increase in numbers was expected but the National Coronavirus Command Council will examine the situation in the hardest hit provinces such as Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Western Cape.