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Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize.
- Taverns have been identified as “super spreaders” by Covid-19 and those that do not comply with Covid-19 regulations will be closed or fined.
- The focus will fall on the taverns and behavior when the Minister of Health, Dr. Zweli Mkhize, visits the taverns in the Nelson Mandela Bay Township.
- Change in human behavior is key to fighting a Covid-19 resurgence in the municipality, the Eastern Cape health department has said.
Taverns have been identified as Covid-19 super spreaders and those that do not comply with Covid-19 regulations will be closed or fined.
Attention will fall on the taverns and customer behavior when the Minister of Health, Dr. Zweli Mkhize, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, visit the Municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay.
The announcement was made by the Eastern Cape Health Department on Wednesday.
The inter-ministerial team, led by Mkhize, will make rounds in the city’s taverns on Thursday and Friday amid concerns of a resurgence of Covid-19 infections in the area.
“Change in human behavior is key to fighting the resurgence of Covid-19 in Nelson Mandela Bay,” health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said Wednesday.
READ HERE | Netcare sends staff and ventilators to ECape as cases rise and warns of Western Cape
The taverns made national headlines this week after journalists discovered patrons were drinking in crowded venues and failing to abide by social distance rules.
The Nelson Mandela Bay metro has the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the Eastern Cape.
The death toll stands at 1,566, with 39,515 confirmed cases.
The hotspot areas on the metro, which incorporates Port Elizabeth, Motherwell and Uitenhage, are
– Motherwell or Ikamvelihle
– Soweto on Sea
– Chatty
– Walmer
– New Brighton
– KwaNobuhle
– Cleary Park
Mkhize will be accompanied by Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba and senior government officials.
MEC Gomba, who is already in Nelson Mandela Bay, said that during the two-day visit the taverns will be visited, some of them have proven to be super spreader as some customers do not wear masks and there is minimal social distancing, Kupelo said.
Gomba said: “Taverns that violate the regulations can be closed or fined.”
The MEC also dismissed media reports of the Covid-19 bed shortage as fake news.
READ | Closure: 13 starter schools closed Eastern Cape for operating illegally
This, the MEC said, was because there were 2,100 Covid-19 beds available in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
On the staff shortage, Kupelo said the health department is moving to address this by appointing doctors and nurses at the Mpilisweni, Dora Nginza and Livingstone hospitals.
The MEC asked people to adhere to the golden rules of washing their hands or using an alcohol-based sanitizer regularly, keeping at least a distance of 2 meters and wearing masks.
READ ALSO | Eastern Cape Health MEC To Target Taverns Amid Covid-19 Second Wave Concerns
On the continuous attacks and kidnapping of health workers and cars, the MEC asked the communities to work with the police and the health department to report the perpetrators.
“These incidents are putting health officials under extreme pressure and fear. These barbaric acts must end. The health challenge facing our communities cannot afford these distractions,” Gomba said.
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