DURBAN - Baby clothes, blankets, towels and other essential accessories for new-borns, infants and toddlers up to 36 months old are now considered as essential goods, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) announced on Thursday.
Baby clothing was not listed as 'essential' under the original lockdown regulations, which have since been amended.
“Following requests for clarification, we confirm that this provision includes baby clothes, blankets, towels and other essential accessories for new-borns, infants and toddlers up to 36 months old,” said minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
The announcement comes after several organisations threatened to take the government to court in an attempt to reserve the ban on the sale of baby goods.
“To ensure the effectiveness of the lockdown in containing the spread of COVID-19, all stores that are currently permitted to remain open for the sale of other essential goods, including supermarkets, may therefore sell these products. We have been in contact with the CEO’s of the large retailers, who have undertaken to sell these products at prices which simply cover their basic costs of production and distribution for the period of the lockdown,” said Dlamini-Zuma.
“Hospitals and clinics may directly procure these products as necessary to provide for the infants in their care,” added the Minister.
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