Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said while cases of Covid-19 were rising in South Africa, Cabinet did not conclude that the public healthcare system was imperiled enough to warrant an immediate decision on lockdown adjustments.

Briefing reporters on Thursday morning on the outcomes of Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, Gungubele left it in the hands of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to decide the next move on lockdown restrictions or vaccine regulations.

The Cabinet meeting and subsequent post-Cabinet briefing come in a week when South Africans expect government to either tighten lockdown restrictions or introduce incentives for vaccines and restrictions from public gatherings for the unvaccinated in response to the omicron variant.

Even the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) resolved to recommend government limit access to public gatherings and events to vaccinated people and look into mandating vaccines at the workplace as cases rise.

Gungubele said while Cabinet continued to urge people to social distance, wear a mask in public and wash their hands regularly, it would be up to Ramaphosa to decide on lockdown adjustments following a meeting with the NCCC.

"It's difficult to have an official date on that. Until the NCCC have a meeting. It's based on their assessment from the Medical Advice Council to decide whether the family meeting is necessary or not," said Gungubele.

Gungubele said the information before Cabinet regarding the fourth wave suggested that hospitals still had adequate capacity to respond to the rise in cases that have come with the new variant without any dramatic change to the lockdown, especially if it meant saving the economy.

"So far, the reports we are getting is that there is no red flag in that regard. The other issue we are thinking about carefully is to live with this corona. We need to find a balance between livelihoods and lives," Gungubele said.

The minister acknowledged that last year's hard lockdown, especially at levels five and four, caused great damage and uncertainty. He said any decision taken by Cabinet on vaccine mandates would be informed by the most effective means to win South Africans over.

"The attitude government is adopting is finding the best way to ensure livelihoods are preserved and the economy moves. No recommendations on mandatory vaccines were tabled. It's clear to a number of us that you need a policy that encourages vaccination and discourages vaccine cynicism. That will depend on the findings we have as we assess the situation," he said.

Gungubele said Cabinet was concerned about saving livelihoods, saying: "The biggest threat to our country now is an economy that is staggered and the smart approach which is understood by many is to do everything that will not interrupt the economic recovery".

Gungubele said Cabinet resolved to extend the national Covid-19 lockdown to 15 January 2022. He said vaccinations were gathering pace with 26.7-million vaccine doses administered to date.