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Thsonono Buyeye, acting mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, says the city will welcome stricter restrictions as it continues to fight the spread of Covid-19 amid the virus resurgence in the province.
The Eastern Cape metropolitan area is considered a hotspot. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has expressed concern about the daily increase in infections in the province. “The Eastern Cape is responsible for 50-55% of new positive cases on a daily basis,” he said.
“All our evidence on the ground is that the number of positive people has increased, especially in Nelson Mandela Bay, you write down the number of people who are dying and the number of people who are positive.”
Buyeye said authorities have done their best to educate residents about the seriousness of the situation in the province, but the government still receives “videos and photos of irresponsible social gatherings of young people having parties.”
“While social gatherings remain our main problem, we have not stopped enforcing the law at churches and funerals as they can also be very diffusive. We urge our residents to stop the spread of the virus, no one else is causing this problem except us. People die almost every day and it is in our hands, this time we could sacrifice everything that is used to save people’s lives, ”said Buyeye.
As a result of the increase, Metropolitan Area Disaster Management President Shane Brown said Stricter regulations cannot be avoided.as people move during the festive season and the city is one of the favorite destinations.
“The more cases we see in other areas, the more stringent regulations are needed. Private hospitals have reached the maximum capacity for the treatment of Covid-19 and although the public hospitals and the field hospital have capacity, there are not enough staff to treat patients due to the same virus and other challenges related to work ”, said.
“Residents should avoid these big gatherings all together in all their different ways. Currently, regulations allow 200 people to gather in a church if the building has a capacity of 400. But with the reality we face, we urge residents not to be part of such large gatherings as this increases their chances of contracting the virus and spread it to those who did not even attend such meetings. “
The city has presented inputs to the minister of health and other interested parties, regarding the call for localized restrictions.
“Everyone is aware of the situation. If we don’t stop infections in the city, the virus will spread uncontrollably across the country and we don’t want that, ”Buyeye said.
west cape
The Western Cape government has also submitted communications to the national Health Department regarding the growing increase within the province, however Prime Minister Alan Winde says the province’s focus is to avoid the lockdown.
“I must reiterate that the top priority right now is to avoid a lockdown, which would devastate our economy. The best and fastest way to do (stop the increase) is through individuals, companies and civil society that play their role by changing their behavior, ”he said.
Winde previously suggested that a ‘blunt instrument’ approach of using a mini-lock was being considered, but that this would be a last resort option, and not so severe as to move entire regions back to full lock.
“What is happening in other parts of the world, like Australia and Singapore, is what they call circuit breaker. The easiest way to explain it would be a mini block, ”he said.
This involves putting certain regulations in a municipality or district for six days: no weddings, no funerals, no super broadcast events, no issued permits.
Winde said that at this stage, no decision has been made on localized restrictions, and the province is still seeking legal advice on what is possible, given that disaster restrictions are imposed by the national government and not by the provinces.
“We will communicate our action plan at this week’s Digital Press Conference, which will take place on Thursday,” he said.
“We need to make sure that everyone wears a mask. We must avoid crowds and nonessential gatherings. And we must ensure that we do not have close contact with others. If we follow these protocols, we can make a big dent in this resurgence. This should be the priority of all citizens at this time. “
Other provinces
As of November 30, 2,302 new cases had been reported in South Africa, bringing the total reported to 790,004.
Deaths have reached 21,535 (a daily increase of 58), while recoveries have risen to 731,242, leaving the country with a balance of 37,227 active cases.
Across all provinces, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape currently have the most active cases, and KwaZulu Natal and Free State are also marked for large numbers of currently infected people.
KwaZulu Natal Prime Minister Sihle Zikalala said the province is “concerned” about being ranked the third province with the most active cases, but said the threshold of “resurgence” had not yet been reached in the province.
“We are extremely concerned about the increase in the number of new cases of Covid-19 in the province during the last four weeks,” he said. “Over the past week, the numbers increased substantially, and the number of new cases increased by 30%.”
“The province is monitoring resurgence indicators very closely and has not reached the resurgence threshold, although in the last week the number of cases has been fluctuating. These indicators are monitored daily; and if the indicators of resurgence are triggered, the Provincial Plan of Resurgence will be implemented ”, he said.
Highest rate of Covid-19 infections as a percentage:
- Gauteng – 29.7%
- Western Cape – 16.8%
- Eastern Cape: – 16.2%
- KwaZulu-Natal: 16.2%
Read: These are the Covid-19 hotspots in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, and the restrictions being considered
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