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Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize says the government will discuss additional lockdown restrictions to control the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in areas like Nelson Mandela Bay.
At a press conference on Thursday (Nov 26), Mkhize said that the idea of using ‘differentiated approaches’ for specific hotspot areas was first discussed in May and June of this year.
Under this approach, Mkhize said that the government will seek to introduce a “package of interventions” in these problem areas.
“In this case, the entire Nelson Mandela Bay will likely warrant additional restrictions, therefore we will go through a consultation just to discuss the things that we think will be important,” he said.
“I think when we see the numbers we do now, we should start restricting the hours of movement, particularly the later activities (at night).
“We also have to look at the numbers in the hospitals to see the impact of alcohol-induced pressure and start discussing issues about it.”
Mkhize said that any restrictions will be based on evidence and official decisions have not yet been made, however, he indicated that his department will make recommendations to the National Coronavirus Command Council in the coming days.
west cape
On Thursday, the Western Cape government said it is also considering local lockdown restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus in critical areas.
The province issued a ‘resurgence’ warning on Wednesday, as the number of active cases has risen substantially from week to week.
Provincial Health Chief Dr. Keith Cloete said one of the only measures available to the Western Cape is whether it encourages public behavior to change dramatically.
“We will have to look and explore the local restrictions. If people don’t behave in a way that helps us, we may have to get a lot tougher in the way we impose restrictions locally in the Western Cape, ”he said.
Cloete said his team made a recommendation to the cabinet with a special team created by Prime Minister Alan Winde that will meet on Friday to discuss the details of these restrictions.
He said that by next week there will be more clarity on what exactly these restrictions will be.
“The prime minister and the cabinet have agreed that in the face of these growing infections it would be responsible to consider all the possibilities that can be done locally with the municipalities and to explore the proper application of the restrictions in the coming weeks and months. “
On Thursday, South Africa reported 3,069 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total reported to 778,571. Deaths have reached 21,289, a daily increase of 88.
Recovery data has not been released for several days as the government continues to reconcile its figures.
Read: South African hospitals warn of virus rise
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