There is mixed reaction to President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that religious gatherings of up to 50 people will be permitted as the country braces itself for the Covid-19 peak.
The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) is "extremely happy" with the announcement but the Jesuit Institute is confused by the decision, given the spate of new infections linked to churches abroad.
'Not a very wise decision'
But Father Russell Pollitt, director of the Jesuit Institute of South Africa, is confused by Ramaphosa's surprise announcement.
Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, secretary general of the SA Council of Churches (SACC) told the SABC that all religious organisations were "at one on the appeal for the availability of spiritual ministrations to the South African public in the context of the anxieties of coronavirus".
The board's president, Mary Kluk, told News24 people had to be mindful that many "mini-outbreaks emanated from religious gatherings".
