For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.

Making headlines: Govt to announce Easter holiday restrictions, trial date set for Julius Malema's firearm discharge case and, WHO says virus origins report will be released on Tuesday

Govt to announce Easter holiday restrictions

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that government will make an announcement later this week on lockdown regulations as the country heads into a long weekend, and braces for a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ramaphosa said religious organisations have asked that some of the existing lockdown restrictions be eased for Easter and Ramadan.

South Africa is currently under level 1 of the national lockdown, which permits faith-based, religious, social, political and cultural gatherings.

In his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa warned that large gatherings, whether religious or otherwise, have the potential to spread the virus, despite the application of measures around social distancing and sanitising.

trial date set for Julius Malema's firearm discharge case

The trial date has been set in the court case of Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema and his co-accused Adriaan Snyman.

Malema faces charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and three counts of contravening the Firearms Control Act.

The charges stem from a 2018 incident in which Malema was captured on camera using what appeared to be an automatic assault rifle during the EFF's fifth birthday celebrations in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape.

WHO says virus origins report will be released on Tuesday

The head of the World Health Organization said that a long-awaited report into the origins of the new coronavirus following a mission to China where the virus first emerged will be released publicly on Tuesday but that further study is required.

Asked to comment further on its conclusions, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said all hypotheses are on the table and warrant complete and further studies.

German international development minister Gerd Mueller said at the same briefing that he welcomed China's cooperation with the probe, which took place in January-February.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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