Pretoria, June 3 (RHC)-- South Africa's cabinet said it had taken note of a High Court judgement declaring its coronavirus restrictions as unconstitutional and that it was studying the judgment, though the lockdown remained in force for now.

A statement from the cabinet said the court had declared restrictions under the third and fourth levels of South Africa's five-level lockdown system as invalid, but suspended the order for a period of 14 days. 

The World Health Organization's regional director for the Americas Carissa Etienne said that the COVID-19 epidemiological curve is still rising sharply in the region, with close to 3 million confirmed cases.  She said the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) hopes to continue working well with the United States despite the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO.

Speaking in a virtual briefing from Washington, Pan American Health Organization directors advised countries not to open their economies too fast and should avoid public crowds especially where coronavirus cases are still increasing.