The FF Plus says will make an urgent application to the high court to challenge the validity of the National Disaster Management Act.

The party says it will ask the court “to find that the government is abusing the act, which will mean that the announced state of disaster and the associated regulations are unconstitutional”.

It is the second opposition party to announce a legal challenge, after the DA announced it would head to court over the government's lockdown regulations.

“The balance of public interest between curbing the spread of the virus and unlocking the economy to prevent the loss of livelihoods and subsequently lives should come into play. At present, it is not taken into account with the draconian regulations imposed on the country,” said the FF+.

President Cyril Ramaphosa signalled on Wednesday night that some parts of the country could by month-end see an easing of restrictions with a move to a level 3 lockdown.

“It has always been of the utmost importance to strike a balance between limiting the spread of the virus and unlocking the country's economy. Waiting another two weeks before moving to level three will seriously disturb that delicate balance,” said the FF+.

The party will specifically ask the court to:

• rule that all business enterprises be allowed to become fully operational and trade on condition that they have the relevant health and safety measures in place to curb the spread of the virus;
• ask the government to provide its reasons for imposing such stringent regulations and the reasons for why these regulations are still in place even though they have already achieved their primary objective; and
• disclose the data on which the state of disaster is based and explain the reasoning behind how the timelines for the various levels of lockdown are determined.