'When we heard "fellow South Africans", we knew the answer': SA responds to lockdown extension

President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended SA's 21-day coronavirus lockdown by two weeks, a decision that already had him trending in the lead-up to the announcement on Thursday night.

Ramaphosa thanked South Africans for “their remarkable patience and courage” during the lockdown.

The president said that while evidence showed the lockdown had slowed the spread of the coronavirus, ending the lockdown “too soon or too abruptly” could upend the positive results.

He then asked South Africans to abide by the extended lockdown, saying it “is a difficult time for all of us”.

“I have to ask you to make even greater sacrifices so that our country may survive this crisis.

“As we walk this road together, as we struggle to defeat this pandemic, we remain, strong, united and resolved as South Africans.”

He said it was “a matter of survival and we dare not fail”.

On Twitter, the hashtags #CyrilRamaphosa and #MyFellowSouthAfricans immediately trended.

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