Muslim clerics pray as they await the sighting of the new moon that makes the start of of holy month of Ramadan, during a nationwide lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa, April 23, 2020. /Reuters
Algeria and Egypt eased their confinement measures from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan on Friday by shortening night curfews and lifting full lockdowns, while South Africa announced it will allow a partial reopening of the economy on May 1, with travel restrictions eased and some industries allowed to operate under a five-level risk system.
In Algeria, which has reported 3,007 cases of the novel coronavirus and 407 deaths, the full lockdown in the Blida province south of Algiers will be replaced with a curfew from 2 p.m. to 7 a.m., while a 3 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew in other nine provinces, including Algiers, will be shortened to run from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. The government made no changes to the confinement measures in the remaining provinces where a 7 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew has been imposed for weeks.
The curfew in Egypt will start at 9 p.m. instead of the previous 8 p.m. and run until 6 a.m. Shopping malls and businesses will be allowed to open on weekends, but will still be required to close at 5 p.m. But mosques will remain closed and any public religious gatherings will still be banned.
Egypt on Thursday reported 232 new cases of the respiratory disease, including 11 deaths, bringing the country's total to 3,891 infections and 287 deaths.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa won wide praise for his quick move to implement and then extend a national shutdown that began in late March, but as the economic impact has deepened, criticism has grown, with sporadic protests and calls by industry to ease regulations.
A general view shows an outdoor market set up by the Algerian government to prevent crowding inside supermarkets, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Algiers, Algeria, April 19, 2020. /Reuters
Ramaphosa said the National Coronavirus Command Council decided restrictions would be lowered from level 5, the strictest lockdown stage, to level 4 from next Friday, but he was really cautious about reopening the economy, emphasizing the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is yet to pass and that people need to remain vigilant.
International borders will remain closed while travel will be only allowed for essential services. Social distancing rules remained in place, and a government monitoring system would determine which sectors would be allowed to operate.
"We have to balance the need to resume economic activity with the imperative to contain the virus and save lives," Ramaphosa said. "We cannot take action today that we will deeply regret tomorrow, we must avoid a rushed reopening that could risk a spread which would need to be followed by another hard lockdown."
The country has recorded 3,953 confirmed cases including 75 deaths with 143,570 people tested for the virus.
Algeria and Egypt are also careful about the ease of lockdown measures. Egyptian authorities say they will review the measures in two weeks to decide whether to keep them in place or reimpose curbs if infections begin to exceed predictions.
Algerian authorities have urged citizens to remain vigilant, saying "Changing or keeping the confinement measures will depend on the evolution of the epidemiological situation."
(With input from agencies)