General: End of State of Disaster 'a step closer'

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has confirmed that the government is a step closer to finalizing regulations that could see the national State of Disaster lifted soon, reports TimesLIVE. ‘We are almost at the tail end of finalizing this matter. We are hoping that by next week there should be a National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) meeting where alternative regulations can be presented,’ said Phaahla. He said once the State of Disaster was lifted it would mean that ‘if the bulk of those controls have to be under the National Health Act, the Minister of Health would then be the regulator’. ‘The legal people must just confirm with us whether, as it’s crafted now, the Act empowers the Minister of Health to regulate certain behaviours of an entire population, like the Disaster Management Act does’, he said. Phaahla said various departments were working on alternative measures to replace the State of Disaster, but that the Department of Health was leading in this regard.