Economics
Four Charts Showing How April Lockdown Hurt South Africa’s Economy
- Government will loosen virus-lockdown rules from June 1
- Trade and budget balances fell into large deficits in April
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As South Africa loosens its lockdown from Monday, data for April is proving just how bad the economy was hit by regulations that shuttered almost all activity except essential services during that month.
The country will move to alert level 3 on Monday, from level 4, allowing most businesses to reopen and an additional 8 million people to return to work. However, restaurants will still be limited to offering takeouts, services such as hairdressing are prohibited and most movement of people between provinces, towns and districts remains restricted.