PRESS RELEASE: COVID DEEMED CATEGORY 2 "NOTIFIABLE MEDICAL CONDITION"

5 May 2022

For immediate distribution

Minister gazettes health regulations

COVID-19 deemed a category 2 notifiable medical condition

The Minister of Health has gazetted the Health Regulations Amendment, 2022, which lists COVID-19 as a category 2 notifiable medical condition. These regulations are now in force and amend the existing 2017 Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions.

Read together, these regulations establish a new regulatory framework for South African society going forward, with no defined end date, and subject only to change at the discretion of the Minister of Health. As with the Disaster Management Act regulations, these regulations may be amended at any time with immediate effect, allowing for further limitations on constitutionally protected rights.

Public participation concerns remain

Despite the promulgation of the Health Regulations Amendment, 2022, the Minister has indicated that public comment on the Draft Health Regulations remains open until 5 July 2022.

“The Health Regulations Amendment, 2022 differs from the Draft Health Regulations,” says Michael Swain, Executive Director of FOR SA. “The draft regulations would, for example, have introduced mandatory ‘treatment’, which was undefined and could have been interpreted to include mandatory vaccination. These provisions do not appear in the regulations now promulgated.”

While welcoming the extended opportunity for public comment, Swain noted that the amended regulations still fail to incorporate many of the more than 300,000 public submissions opposing key aspects of the draft regulations.

“Of particular concern,” Swain said, “is the fact that the Minister retains sole discretion to list a disease as a notifiable medical condition, and that these regulations remain in force indefinitely for as long as such a listing exists.”

Impact on gatherings and religious freedom

FOR SA remains fundamentally opposed to the continued numeric limitations on gatherings, as well as the requirement that proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test be presented to attend indoor gatherings of more than 1,000 people, regardless of the size or capacity of the venue.

“It is a gross violation of religious freedom to force a pastor, imam, rabbi, or priest to exclude someone from a religious service based on their ability to pay for a COVID test or their vaccination status,” said Swain.

He added that such measures are “reminiscent of the hated dompas of the apartheid era,” particularly given that non-compliance may result in penalties including imprisonment of up to 10 years or an unlimited fine.

Ongoing questions about emergency regulation

Serious questions remain about the continued regulation of South African society under the pretext of a health emergency.

“Why has COVID-19 been listed as a category 2 notifiable medical condition, the second most severe category, regardless of variant and at a time when much of the rest of the world is moving away from COVID-19 regulations entirely?” Swain asked.

ENDS