South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the crowd gathered at the Miki Yili Stadium, ahead of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Freedom Day, in Makhanda, Eastern Cape Province on April 27, 2019.

South Africa has extended its nationwide lockdown for two weeks, but outlined a set of criteria for lifting restrictions, with coronavirus cases in the country so far avoiding the sharp trajectory seen in Europe and the U.S.

South Africa remains the most affected country in Africa by the pandemic, with 2,415 confirmed cases as of Wednesday morning according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. However, the spread of Covid-19 to date has been far less severe than expected.

President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted in a national address last week that the rate of new infections had slowed to just 4% since stringent lockdown measures were implemented on March 27, down from 42% when the virus first arrived in the country. More than 83,000 tests have been conducted so far, although this remains well below the target of 10,000-15,000 tests per day.

The lockdown measures, which are being enforced by police and the army, forbid South Africans from leaving their homes except to seek medicine or medical care, buy food and supplies or collect a social grant. The sale of alcohol and cigarettes is also prohibited.

In his address to the nation Thursday, Ramaphosa said that while there was still a need for greater testing and efforts to gauge the infection rate, this represented "real progress."

However, he cautioned that ending the lockdown too early risked "reversing the gains" and "rendering meaningless the sacrifices" made by all South Africans.