The department of health has proposed face masks continue to be a requirement in certain areas once new draft rules have been approved. 

This week the department published Covid-19 regulations set to replace the state of disaster rules for public comment. 

The proposed regulations are part of government’s transition plans from the state of disaster which was first declared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. 

The 157-page document, among other things, covers vaccinations, management of human remains and wearing of masks.

Under the rules, face masks will remain mandatory as follows;

• Face masks will be compulsory for indoor gatherings.
• No person can enter public premises or make use of public transport without a mask.
• An employer must provide employees with a face masks that cover the nose and mouth.

Notably absent from the proposed regulations is the requirement to wear a face mask in outdoor public spaces, such as on the street.

Once approved, the regulations will be implemented within the national department of health and with the support of some public entities reporting to the department.

The public comment period will close on April 15 to allow government time to consider all the comments.

Earlier this month, epidemiologist and former chairperson of the Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee Prof Salim Abdool Karim said SA was ready to lift regulations on wearing masks outdoors.

Speaking on eNCA, Abdool Karim said a few measures will have to be kept in place, specifically some restrictions on mass gatherings, vaccine policies and wearing masks in certain indoor spaces.

“I don’t know what government’s plans are on wearing masks, but what we’ve seen from other countries is that we have reached a stage where we can change our overall strategy. We can remove most restrictions and public health measures at this point,” said Abdool Karim.

“For example, we can get away from all the sanitising, we can drop our outdoor mask-wearing mandate but we are going to probably need to keep three things. 

“The first is, we’re going to have some measures to avoid major outbreaks in mass gatherings. Second, we’re going to have to ensure all indoor environments are largely restricted to individuals who are vaccinated. Finally, there will be certain areas where wearing a mask indoors will be important.”