Know what essential and support services will continue to operate during the national lockdown

A South Africa braces for a national lockdown from midnight on Thursday, detailed below is a list of the essential and support services that will continue to operate throughout the 21-day period.

Essential infrastructure services

Electricity – stable power supply with no load-shedding

Water supply, sewerage and sanitation

ICT – data centres, fibre optic infrastructure, towers and antennae

Critical business continuity services: health & safety

Food & essential products – related manufacturing and processing, and distribution

• Manufacturing of health related products, supplies, devices, equipment, and medicines, including complementary health products; food and essential products, as well as essential inputs;
• Agricultural and food supply related operations, including farming, veterinary and phyto-sanitary provider services, pest control services, and chemical and fertiliser providers;
• Fishing operations;
• Forestry and sawmills will remain in production for disposable health and hygiene products, including toilet paper; as well as for the production of packaging for essential health and food supply chains;
• Food, beverages and essential products manufacturing and processing facilities;
• Warehousing, transport and logistics for food and essential products, and health related goods;
• The ports, roads and rail networks will remain open to facilitate import and export of essential products; and
• Food outlets – retail, wholesale, spaza shops and malls for food and essential products (toilet paper, sanitiser, clothing, bedding, hygiene products).

Enabling Services

• All healthcare related services, public and private;
• Call centres providing life and health; energy, food and water supply, social, transactional, communications, law and order and critical international business continuity services; 
• Professional and artisan services, to the extent that they provide support in the Covid-19 response, essential and critical business continuity services;
• Cleaning, laundry and hospitality services supporting the Covid-19 response and essential and critical business continuity services;
• Hotels, airlines, stadiums and car rental services, to the extent that they support essential or critical business continuity services and repurposing for the Covid-19 response;
• Financial and insurance services and health funders required to finance and support essential and critical business continuity services in the Covid-19 response, and provide short-term bridging finance to people and businesses during this period;
• Anti-poaching and wildlife conservation services;
• Communication and media services on screen, TV, radio, print, broadcast and online; and
• Safety and security services protecting people and property. 

Work from Home

The government encourages people to continue to remain productive and work from home.

Other than the above, all businesses will need to shut down during the lockdown.