Last night President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the coronavirus pandemic a national disaster, and has introduced a host of interventions to curb the spread of the disease in South Africa, including school and port of entry closures, as well as imposing a travel ban on foreign nationals from countries with the highest rates of infection.

The measures are the outcome of an emergency cabinet meeting held on Sunday and were aimed at protecting South African citizens and the economy. Ramaphosa said that the coronavirus outbreak is a medical emergency far graver than anything experienced in over a century.

The number of positive cases of Covid-19 in the country has risen to 61, with 162 000 testing positive for coronavirus globally. The number of Covid-19 deaths currently stands at 5000.

“This number is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks. Initially it was people who had travelled into the country, especially from Italy. It is concerning that we are now dealing with internal transmission of the virus,” he said.

The situation, the President said, called for an extraordinary response and no half measures.

During the Cabinet meeting, the virus was declared a national disaster to enable government to have an integrated and coordinated disaster mechanism that will focus on preventing and reducing the outbreak.

During this period, there should be limited contact between people who may be infected and South Africans.