A little bit of good news from my Botswana friends. Yesterday, the President announced his plan for beginning to slowly lift the lockdown WITHIN the country. I have the full *.pdf file of the entire release but it is to large in file size to attach here. So, I've extracted the important points and copied here.
It is important to inform you that the extended national lockdown also involves an exit plan which is based on the success we anticipate. The extension of the current twenty eight (28) day lockdown will be implemented in the following phases:
• Phase 1: We will extend the current lockdown period conditions by one week, that is, from May 1st to May 7th, 2020. During this period, we will also develop and finalize regulations for a phased lifting of lockdown rules in low risk sectors.
• Phase 2: Starting from May 8th to May 14th, we will lift in a phased manner, some lockdown rules while at the same time introducing additional plans for further lifting of the remaining lockdown rules.
• Phase 3: From May 15th to May 22nd, which will be the final week of the lockdown extension, we will be lifting the remaining rules from the original lockdown rules implemented on March 30th, 2020.
Once again, let me remind you fellow citizens that this plan is based on the success we anticipate to achieve as a country. This success is dependent on the cooperation andadherence to the current lockdown rules by citizens and residents of this country. In addition, it is important to note that the plan to relax the lockdown rules will be guided by the COVID-19 disease activity in our communities. That is, a faster relaxation of rules will occur if the threat of COVID-19 becomes very low. However, in the event that the threat of COVID-19 outbreak and transmission, exceeds the current
level at any point, a return to the original twenty eight (28) day national lockdown rules or stricter rules will be put in place.
Again, this is just about lifting the restrictions for WITHIN Botswana. The last "Phase 3" does NOT mean they are lifting the travel ban in/out of the country at that point. In any case, the natives are restless and they entire country has only had a few "reported" cases and only a couple of "reported" deaths. I don't know if I personally believe any numbers being reported from anywhere anyway.
At least things are looking up and maybe the later part of the hunting season will still be available for International hunters.
