South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown that will begin on March 23 and will take place for 21 days until midnight on April 16. During this lock down all South Africans are required to stay home except for certain limited circumstances.
Residents will only be allowed to leave their homes to buy food, medical supplies, or collect a “social grant.”
Only essential businesses like grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, laboratories, gas stations, and healthcare providers will remain open. So, defense forces will be used to help police enforce the restrictions.
This is pretty much the standard lock down we are seeing in some cities in the US.
There have been rumors that the US will undergo a nationwide lockdown at some point.
Personally, I think our country is handling the lockdown situation the proper way by allowing states and cities to make these determinations.
Lockdowns have a profound effect on people’s livelihoods and until people can feel comfortable about their financial future, imposing a nationwide lockdown could have some serious repercussions.
Plus, the states have been pretty active when it comes to implementing these so I don’t even think the federal government feels the need to get involved.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.