The health department has extended the deadline for public comment on the proposed Covid-19 regulations to April 25. 

According to health minister Joe Phaahla, the extension comes after comments from several stakeholders that a 30-day period was not sufficient time to scrutinise all sets of proposed regulations and develop substantial representations.

He urged interested individuals and organisations to use the extra time for public comment on the health regulations meant to manage Covid-19 and other notifiable conditions outside the Disaster Management Act. 

People can send their comments to tsakani.furumele@health.gov.za.

The department announced additional communication methods to send comments, including via WhatsApp on 0600 123456 and email legalreviews@health.gov.za. 

The department acknowledged a technical glitch in which a few emails were erroneously deleted during their transfer from an individual inbox into an open source, but said these were retrieved and included for consideration and auditing.

“We assure everyone that all comments received will be accounted for, recorded and considered,” said the department.