Cabinet has received recommendations relating to alert level 3 of South Africa's lockdown and will decide on these next week after a briefing by ministerial health advisers on the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement released on Thursday morning.

"Cabinet received an updated report from the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC). The NCCC tabled a number of recommendations pertaining to the enhanced risk-adjusted alert level 3 of the national lockdown."

The recommendations are based on input from various quarters as well as deliberations by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS). The structure groups the police, military and intelligence structures and has played a key role in the government's coronavirus strategy.

"However, Cabinet decided to defer approval of the recommendations pending a full health assessment report from the Ministerial Health Advisory Committee on Covid-19. The NCCC is expected to receive the full presentation by early next week," it said, without providing details of the proposals.

Cabinet issued a call to all South Africans to "voluntarily comply" with the measures in place to prevent transmission of the virus, including hand-washing, mask-wearing and physical distancing.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has made plain that the risk-adjusted alert level system on the health crisis allows Cabinet to return the country to higher alert levels or to revise the regulations pertaining to the nationwide lockdown if necessary. 

Alert level 3 came into effect on June 1, allowing for much of the economy to reopen after two months of severe restrictions.

The presidency earlier this week denied social media rumours that the government was about to reintroduce the ban on alcohol sales that was in place during alert levels 5 and 4. Ramaphosa's office said there had been no proposals to bring back the ban.  

The Cabinet statement comes amid intense scrutiny of the manner in which the NCCC functions. It was established by Ramaphosa when he imposed a national state of disaster in March and was introduced by him as the body that would make all relevant decisions on the health crisis. He notably attributed the decision to send the country into lockdown on March 27 to the NCCC.

Lawyers have questioned the legitimacy of the body and its far-reaching decisions after it became clear that it was not established according to law or constitutional provision.

But Ramaphosa this week, in reply to parliamentary questions from the official opposition Democratic Alliance, indicated that the council now comprises all members of Cabinet but that all its decisions that carry policy implications are referred to Cabinet for approval.

“The NCCC co-ordinates government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The NCCC makes recommendations to Cabinet on measures required in terms of the national state of disaster. Cabinet makes the final decisions," he said.