On 15 March 2020, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act, to enable the government to develop a coordinated disaster management mechanism to mitigate Covid-19. In so doing, the government was required to provide relief, protect property, combat disruption, deal with the destructive and other effects of the disaster, and protect the public — only to the extent that ‘it is necessary for the purpose’.