The cabinet says it is studying the high court ruling which found that while the establishment of the state of disaster to handle the Covid-19 pandemic was in itself valid, several of the regulations promulgated under the lockdown levels infringed on individual rights and were invalid.

The lockdown regulations will remain in place for the next two weeks, as Judge Norman Davis gave the government time to “review, amend and republish regulations” to ensure they were consistent with the constitution.

In a statement, cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams said: “Government has taken note of the judgment delivered by the Gauteng Division of the High Court [on June 2, 2020], declaring the Alert Level 4 and Alert Level 3 Lockdown regulations unconstitutional and invalid. The court suspended the declaration of invalidity for a period of 14 days. This means that the Alert Level 3 regulations remain in operation for now.

“The court has further directed the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs, in consultation with the relevant ministers, to review, amend and republish the regulations with 'due consideration to the limitation each regulation has on the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.'

“Cabinet will make a further statement once it has fully studied the judgment.”