Judge upholds mask-wearing but criticises beach ban

Lockdown regulations are here to stay for now, including that it is compulsory for everyone to wear a mask when in a public space. A Saturday Star report says this follows Friday’s judgment by the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), which turned down the bid by Reyno de Beer and his group, the Liberty Fighters Network, to have the extension of the National State of Disaster and its regulations declared invalid. Judge Norman Davis also did not entertain De Beer’s application for the court to hold Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in contempt for allegedly not adhering to some of the orders made by him in June last year when he ruled in favour of De Beer and his network by declaring several level five and four regulations irrational. Davis, explaining his latest reasoning, said: ‘The world and its response to the Covid-19 pandemic has mutated from time to time. The factual, regulatory and legal landscapes have also undergone unprecedented changes.’ On De Beer’s argument for the court to overturn the compulsory wearing of masks, Davis said he had regard to all the expert evidence and found 'no basis to declare the compulsory wearing of masks unconstitutional or invalid'. He did, however, frown on the closure of most beaches. He said while there could be little argument against the rationality of the closure of congested beaches or beach areas – particularly at the height of the festive season – the closure of long, empty stretches of beach did not make sense. ‘But, be that as it may, the beach ban issue has since been lifted and thus become moot,’ Davis added. He ordered each party to pay its own costs.

Full Saturday Star report (subscription needed)