My Fellow South Africans,
It is 25 days since South Africa began a nation-wide lockdown to contain the spread of the
coronavirus.

It has demanded of you great fortitude and endurance.
It has caused you much suffering and required much sacrifice.
Once again, I salute you and I thank you.
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted your lives and damaged our economy.
Its severity will continue to take a heavy toll in the weeks and months to come.

The pandemic has resulted in the sudden loss of income for businesses and individuals
alike, deepening poverty and increasing hunger.

The urgent and dramatic measures we have taken to delay the spread of the virus have
been absolutely necessary.

They have given us the space to better respond to the inevitable rise in infections and to
thereby save tens of thousands of lives.

While the nation-wide lockdown is having a devastating effect on our economy, it is nothing
compared to the catastrophic human, social and economic cost if the coronavirus could
spread among our people unchecked.

Download: President’s Message