As President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the downgrade to Level 3 of the national Covid-19 lockdown, he thanked scientists for challenging and pushing the government's response to the global pandemic.
"We appreciate the diverse and sometimes challenging views of the scientists and health professionals in our country, which stimulate public debate and enrich our response," he said in his address on Sunday evening.
READ MORE | Another top scientist says experts are being sidelined
News24 reported that the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19 came out in support of Professor Glenda Gray, who spoke out against some of the government's regulations during lockdown.
She accused the government of not consulting the country's top scientists on lockdown regulations.
Venter is one of 51 academics who publicly pledged their support to Gray on Saturday after the health department's acting director-general, Dr Anban Pillay, formally requested the South African Medical Research Council, of which Gray is CEO and president, to investigate her comments to News24.
