South Africans have been told to prepare living with the threat of coronavirus for a year or even more.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said people will still be expected to social distance, wear masks and wash their hands for a while.

He used his weekly newsletter on Monday to warn that “it will not be life as we knew it before” even as restrictions are being eased.

He said this as he warned that the national lockdown eased to level 4 to allow a number of businesses to operate will result in inevitable increase in the number of infected people.

As of late Sunday, 10,015 people had been infected with the novel Covid-19 in SA, with 194 dreported deaths.

“While there is still much about the pandemic that is unknown, experts now agree that the virus will remain a threat to global public health for some time,” Ramaphosa said.

“We must therefore be prepared to continue to live with the coronavirus among us for a year or even more. We must be prepared for a new reality in which the fight against Covid-19 becomes part of our daily existence.”

He warned that the number of infections is expected to increase. South Africa has passed the 10,000 mark of new infections.