Boxing South Africa’s Statement on Measures to Combat COVID-19.

ISSUED ON MONDAY, 16 MARCH 2020

Boxing fraternity,

As it is now common knowledge, on Sunday, 15 March 2020, our State President, His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa issued a statement in respect of measures to be adopted by South Africa to combat the Covid-19 epidemic. In setting the scene, the President characterized this medical emergency as being far graver than what has ever been experienced in over a century. He stated emphatically that the situation calls for an extraordinary response and there can therefore be no half measures.

As Boxing South Africa (BSA) issues this statement, South Africa has declared a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act . The overarching message to all sectors and citizens is that we all need to take urgent and drastic measures to, (1) manage the virus, (2) protect the people of this country and (3) reduce the impact of the virus on our society and our economy.

As part of South Africa’s integrated and coordinated disaster management mechanism to prevent and reduce the outbreak of this virus, a number of measures were announced by the President. These measures will surely have a direct and immediate impact on our business processes as a professional boxing regulatory body. We therefore kindly request you to take note of these implications:

1. Sanctioned Tournaments

All sanctioned tournaments are, with immediate effect, cancelled. The implication is that the following tournaments, which were already sanctioned will no longer be taking place:

1. Golden Gloves tournament of 21 March 2020 at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg.
2. TLB Promotions tournament of 28 March 2020 at Riviera on the Vaal, Free State.
3. Tono Promotions tournament of 5 April 2020 at Umfolozi Casino, KwaZulu-Natal
4. DMZ Sitobe tournament of 21 March 2020 at Chartsworths Youth Centre, KZN.
5. Insane Promotions tournament of 18 April 2020 at Hope Street Hall, Cape Town.

2. Tournament Applications

No application for new tournaments will be accepted until further clarity is received from the National Command Council in terms of how long is the national state of disaster likely to last.

3. Other Administrative Activities

In the immediate, other administrative work of BSA will not be affected and the office remains open and functional. There is therefore no impact on the licensing process and its timelines arising from this national state of disaster.

4. Gyms and other training facilities

With full appreciation of the need for our boxers to remain active and maintain fitness, we urge you all to exercise caution in the gyms and places of training by:

1. Limiting contact among people
2. Regularly washing hands using soap
Using hand sanitizer and wet wipes regularly Sterilising gym/training equipment and gear (gloves, headgears and mouth guards)

5. Our individual contribution

As the pugilist family and patriotic citizens, we are called upon to take personal responsibility and ensure that we:

1. Wash hands frequently using soap and water or hand sanitizers for at least 20 seconds.
2. When coughing and sneezing, we cover our mouth and nose with a tissue, alternatively do so on a flexed elbow.
3. Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.
4. Note the South Africa Covid-19 Hotline: 0800 029 999 ( Mon- Fri, 8am-4pm)

As BSA we are mindful of the hard impact which this will have on our sector and society at large. We duly apologize for any inconvenience that might arise. In our own vocabulary, these are taken to ensure that, “we protect ourselves at all times’ as our nation goes through this trying time in the young life of our democracy. We however remain confident that standing and working together, South Africa will surely overcome this pandemic.

6. General measures adopted by cabinet

Just as a reminder and in summary, among the measures adopted by Cabinet to combat the spread of this virus are the following:

1. Minimize physical contact among people and refrain from shaking hands.
2. Travel ban on foreign nationals from high risk countries, as from 18 March 2020.
3. South Africans to refrain from travelling to China, Iran, USA, Italy, Spain and other high risk countries.
4. Any foreign nationals who have visited high risk countries in the past 21 days will be denied VISA.
5. All travellers who have travelled to high risk countries since February 2020 must present themselves for testing.
6. 35 land ports will be shut down from Monday, 16 March 2020.
7. All non-essential travel for government officials are banned.
8. Large government events are cancelled.
9. Schools to be closed from 18 March 2020 until Easter weekend.
10. Visits to all correctional services are suspended for 30 days.
11. All businesses to ensure that they adopt hygiene control measures.
12. Isolation and quarantine sites are to be set up in all districts and metros.
13. Mass communications campaign will be undertaken by government.

Please note that these directives may change as further updates or instructions are released by Government and National Sports and Health Authorities. For any enquiries please feel free to contact the Director of Operations, Ms. Cindy Nkomo on directorops@boxingsa.co.za

ISSUED BY BOXING SOUTH AFRICA