In the latest Regulations that was issued under the Disaster Management Act the most important regulation that was added is the one banning the transportation of liquor at all until the 30th of April 2020. The only liquor that can be transported is alcohol that is required to manufacture sanitizers, disinfectants and soap. It is therefor important to ensure that you have no liquor in your car when traveling because it has become a criminal offence.
With regards to the visitation rights of children the Regulations have been relaxed a little bit more. Previously you had to have either a Court Order or a registered parenting plan in your possession. This has been relaxed to parents that do not have any of these documents but who are the co-holders of parental responsibilities and rights can also exercise their rights to access to their children. The proviso to ensure that children are kept safe and away from any possible exposure to the Corona virus is still applicable and therefore children can only move between parents if there is no person who is known to have come into contact with, or is reasonably suspected, to have come into contact with, a person known to have contracted, or reasonably suspected to have contracted the Corona virus in the household to which the child or children is to move.
I am still of the opinion that children will not be able to be moved over provincial and or municipal borders. I think that if, for instance where there is an arrangement between the parents that is not in the form of a parenting plan or a Court Order, confirmation of the arrangement and or agreement by ways of an e-mail or letter confirming this will assist. It is important to have the birth certificate or a certified copy thereof with you at all times because this proves the legitimate relationship, obviously with your own proper proof of identification. As I have said before this situation can be easily abused by a parent and although everybody calls on all South Africans to be reasonable during this time, some individuals will, to the detriment of their children abuse this situation.
Lastly, what is of importance, is that all evictions from a residence is prohibited, whether it is a formal dwelling an informal settlement or a farm dwelling, you are not allowed to be evicted from your residence for the period of the lockdown.
If you have any uncertainty in this regard, you are more than welcome to contact our offices on our emergency number.
Our offices will be closed however we will still be working, please feel free to contact us during office hours on +27 768 098312 for any further information or assistance in this regard.