[ad_1]
The Eastern Cape has the highest death toll from Covid-19.
by John Moore / Getty Images
- Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane says the government cannot destroy the economy again by going back to level 5.
- The Eastern Cape currently has the highest number of Covid-19-related deaths after it reached 5,116 on Wednesday.
- Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced that the country is in a second wave of Covid-19.
The Eastern Cape has the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the country, but placing it under a strict lockdown is not an option.
Such a lockdown would destroy the economy again, according to Eastern Cape Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane, who responded on Twitter to a call for the Eastern Cape to be placed on the Level 5 lockdown.
Mabuyane was responding to the tweet from the ANC regional leader and soccer analyst Ace Ncobo.
READ | Covid-19: SA officially enters the second wave
On Thursday Ncobo tweeted: “Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, maybe it’s time we made a decision as a province to apply for the NCCC [National Coronavirus Command Council] to place EC on Level 5 until January 5. “
Mabuyane replied: “No, that cannot work, we cannot destroy the economy again you have to freeze and protect your family [each person must control and guard their own family]. “
When asked for more details on the statement, Mabuyane spokesman Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha told News24: “This is very clear. We all have a responsibility to stop the spread of the infection by doing the right thing: wearing masks, keeping physical distance. , wash or disinfect your hands, “and do not go to overcrowded places. That is what [premier] is talking “.
Second wave
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced that the country is officially in a second wave of Covid-19 and declared the Eastern Cape as one of the four provinces driving the resurgence.
Mkhize said the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were the other key drivers of the new wave.
The Eastern Cape currently leads the country in Covid-19-related deaths after it hit 5,116 on Wednesday. It has overtaken Gauteng and raised concern in the province.
READ | Ramaphosa Declares Nelson Mandela Bay a Covid-19 Hotspot
“Even more concerning is that, on Monday, December 7, the epidemiological report from the Eastern Cape indicated that, in the previous 24 hours, no deaths from Covid-19 had been reported,” said DA MPL Jane Cowley.
“On Tuesday, however, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) stated that the Eastern Cape had suffered a further 82 deaths related to Covid-19. How is it possible that, in a 24-hour period, no one has died? , and then the next 24 hours, 82 people had succumbed?
“This highlights the current concern that the statistics released by the province are neither accurate nor consistent.”
One of the people, who died due to Covid-19 in the Eastern Cape, was Buffalo City Metro’s deputy mayor and former council chairman Zoliswa Matana, 60.
She became the fourth councilwoman to die from Covid-19 on the subway since June.
The others are council chairman Alfred Mtsi, 43rd district councilor Zukiswa Mankayi, and 45th district councilor Gideon Norexe.
