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- The acting mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay subway says residents should work with law enforcement to avoid surveillance.
- The mayor says tougher regulations, especially curfew, is necessary because taverns are becoming a problem.
- He has welcomed the tightening of lockdown restrictions, saying they will help flatten the rise of Covid-19 on the subway by Christmas.
Nelson Mandela Bay Acting Mayor Tshonono Buyeye believes that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to tighten some lockdown restrictions in the region will help flatten the Covid-19 curve and lead to more relaxed conditions at Christmas.
Buyeye addressed the media outside City Hall in Port Elizabeth on Friday, following Ramaphosa’s announcement of the restrictions on Thursday night.
The president declared Nelson Mandela Bay a hotspot for the coronavirus and said the decision to do so was made following a recommendation from the National Coronavirus Command Council in consultation with prime ministers, metropolitan mayors and traditional leaders.
READ | Silent Opposition Reaction to Latest Covid-19 Restrictions on Nelson Mandela Bay Subway
While alert level 1 restrictions are in effect across the country, additional restrictions were put in place on the metro from midnight. Restrictions include a curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. and reduced business hours for alcoholic beverage outlets from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Buyeye said the subway had made a presentation to the province on the issue of alcohol sales and said stricter restrictions would make things easier for officials to contain the spread of the virus and lead to fewer alcohol-related cases in hospitals.
He added:
“We believe that the measures that are taken will ensure that we will deal with the sudden increase in a short space of time and in a short time, we should see a decrease in the numbers. And we believe that by the time Christmas comes, some of the regulations may have We are already relaxed. We are pretty sure that the right decision has been made and we welcome the president’s pronouncement. “
Even the residents
The interim mayor, who was preparing for a council meeting where a new mayor was to be elected, added that residents need to make sure they comply with regulations, making it easier for law enforcement officials to work.
He said it was important for residents to work together with law enforcement officials so that no one was “watched.” KwaNobuhle, Uitenhage and Motherwell were some of the critical points identified in the subway.
As of Thursday, there were 1,719 new cases and 42 deaths in the province. Four of the deaths occurred in the past 48 hours. The total number of cases in the province is 132,149 and there have been 4,720 deaths.
The provincial health department said that in the last 24 hours:
- 49.6% of the new cases were from Nelson Mandela Bay and Sarah Baartman,
- 39.2% of the cases were from Buffalo City, Chris Hani, and Amathole; Y
- 10.5% were from Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo.
Of the 8,218 active cases:
- 63.2% were from Nelson Mandela Bay and Sarah Baartman;
- 29.0% were from Buffalo City, Chris Hani and Amathole; Y
- 6.9% were from OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo.
Increase in deaths
The department noted that there was an increase in the number of deaths during the increase.
In its daily epidemiological report on Thursday, the department said that 62% of accumulated admissions ended in discharge and that 25.6% of those who were hospitalized died as a result of Covid-19.
“The public sector represents 61.8% (976) of current admissions,” the department added.
Provincial health department spokeswoman Siyanda Manana told News24 that in addition to fighting to curb the rise of Covid-19, the province also had rapid response teams in wards that include doctors, nurses, health promoters and counselors to spread awareness in communities and hotspots.
Manana said the province has also decentralized oxygen tanks to district hospitals, where clinics can also access them for recharging.
“We have more than 85% PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in all of our institutions. We are still doing everything we can to make sure our people don’t get Covid-19. We are saying we need to commit. [hotspot areas] intensely. We have about six of those rapid test trucks deployed in the subway (Nelson Mandela Bay), because we believe that if we can stop that spike in the subway, we can contain it. Otherwise it will spread throughout South Africa, “he said.
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