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Dr. Zweli Mkhize, Minister of Health. Photo: Daily Sun
The Rage 2020 festivals that took place in Ballito, Plettenberg Bay, Johannesburg and Jeffery’s Bay have been identified as Covid-19 over-spreading events, Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize
announced in an urgent notice Sunday.
He called all attendees to:
- observe 10 days in quarantine
- get tested for Covid-19 and
- download and interact with the Covid-Alert app.
Mkhize also sounded an alarm to all South Africans that large crowds where alcohol is consumed threaten the country’s fight to curb the spread of Covid-19, which has seen an increase in infections in recent days.
URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT: MATRIC RAGE MEETINGS IDENTIFIED AS SUPERPRODUCTION EVENTS
We wish to make an urgent announcement to all parents and students regarding a superpreader event that has been identified. The Rage 2020 events that you have reported to us are held annually to celebrate the end of enrollment and were held in the following areas and dates:
- Rage Ballito – 11/27 – 12/04
- Rage Plettenberg Bay – 27 / 11-05 / 12
- Rage Johannesburg – 12 / 12-13 / 12
- Rage Jeffery Bay – 26 / 11-6 / 12
* Note: Plettenberg Rage did not take place and is scheduled from January 29 to February 6, 2021.
We confirm that we have now identified a number of confirmed Covid-19 cases arising from these superprocessor events. So this means that if you attended any of these Rage events, you are now considered a contact.
We now urge all Rage attendees to immediately go into a 10-day quarantine period per the Department of Health’s Quarantine and Isolation Guidelines. We also urge all Rage attendees to test for Covid-19.
We also encourage parents to bring their children who have attended Rage for testing as soon as possible.
“We caution South Africans that this is a clear illustration that large gatherings involving alcohol consumption are a significant risk and continue to undermine our efforts to contain the spread of the virus.”
While the government is making an effort to contain this virus, we now appeal to all parents to also exercise their parental prerogative and set limits on the activities in which their children (specifically young people) can participate. It is clear that in these entertainment activities, most of the participants are not constantly aware of their good behavior. This means that our young people not only put themselves at risk of contracting Covid-19, but also put their parents, grandparents and other loved ones living with comorbidities at risk.
We also encourage all participants of these super broadcasters events to download and interact with the Covid-Alert app as part of our contact tracing efforts.
It is also worth noting the reports we have received that some private hospitals in Durban now have full ICUs.
We continue to plead with all citizens that the behavior of each individual will determine whether we will win this fight or whether the virus continues to defeat our efforts.
Dr. Zwelini Mkhize
Health Minister
ENDS …
