South African president says lockdown to ease from June 1

South Africa will further ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions from June 1, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday, allowing large swathes of the economy to return to full capacity.

"Cabinet has determined that the alert level for the whole country should be lowered from level four to level three," he said in an address broadcast on television, describing the move as a significant shift in approach to the pandemic.