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On Monday, the Western Cape Superior Court ruling on a similar offer by the district attorney was reserved.
Garden Route National Park. Image: Facebook
CAPE TOWN – On Tuesday, the government upheld its decision to close the Garden Route beaches, saying the move was rational and justifiable.
Responding to affidavits before the Pretoria High Court, the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, argued that the temporary nature of the closure meant that it did not infringe other rights to the extent that it was illegal.
READ ALSO: Cut to hear AfriForum’s challenge on beach closures
AfriForum and the Great Brak Business Forum (GBBF) are the last parties to take the regulations to court.
On Monday, judgment was reserved in the Western Cape Superior Court on a similar proposal presented by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
And while the government argued its case in court, Eastern Cape authorities reported that people were adhering to the beach ban.
Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane gave an update Tuesday morning on his interventions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The province was declared a hotspot, there are currently more than 14,000 active cases of COVID-19.
Mabuyane said the local government had anticipated a problem during the holiday season with a higher number of visitors.
The provincial government approached the National Coronavirus Command Council in October and proposed beach closures.
“We have analyzed the last two weeks of December and the first week of July, at least the three weeks, if we can do this kind of strict restriction, get our people out of their homes from all these public places, it can surely cause a dent that we want to see into this virus, ”Mabuyane said.
Mabuyane said the government had done everything it could to keep infections low.
“We note that some people have decided to take the government to court. We are analyzing that process with great interest. [and] We respect the courts and the Constitution of this country. But this time, we needed a high level of vigilance and patriotism, ”he said.
READ: 216 new COVID-19 deaths and 8,789 new cases in South Africa
Almost 160,000 people in the province are infected with COVID-19, and just under 140,000 have recovered.
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