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All business essential during lockdown- IRR

The South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) says the distinction of essential and non-essential business during the Covid-19 lockdown will cause more problems than solutions.

The organisation released its coronavirus policy recommendations to the government on Thursday.

CEO Frans Cronje said their research over the past couple of weeks shows that economic activity can continue while the country is on lockdown.

“Our advice is to do away with this distinction between health priorities and economic priority, implicit in that, the distinction between essential economic activity and other activity. Because if it proves impossible to get much of the South African economy back into operation as fast as possible, we expect that the pressure coming out of that will on people and households will see isolation protocols fail.”

Cronje added that economic regression will result in the same health crisis that the government is trying to avoid.