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Interior Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
- During the first five days of January, the Interior offices registered 10,532 deaths.
- Minister Aaron Motsoaledi fears that the numbers will skyrocket in late January.
- In December 2020, the department processed 55,676 death records.
The Department of the Interior recorded 10,532 deaths in the first five days of the new year.
Interior Minister Aaron Motsoaledi fears that the numbers will skyrocket in late January.
“In December 2018, the department recorded 36,825 deaths. In December 2019, there were 38,620 deaths, and in December 2020, there were 55,676 death records,” Motsoaledi said.
“If these trends and numbers go up, it suggests that there is going to be an even greater demand for death certificates than there already is. Now there is a higher demand and we think it will get worse.
“We have proposed that all births and deaths be registered at the health center where they occurred. Birth and death certificates can be collected at the hospital where they were carried out, especially in hospitals that have home affairs offices. Not all hospitals have home affairs offices, “Motsoaledi said.
Mobile units will also be installed to assist when offices are closed or when death records need to be collected.
READ | Covid-19: SA registers 15 046 new infections and 416 new deaths
“All offices will have counters identified and designated for the registration of deaths. The offices will continue to operate from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 15:30. We are extending our opening hours to 19:00 to accommodate people who need to register deaths and births.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, home affairs services were suspended to reduce the number of people visiting our offices. It is difficult to limit the risk of infection when there are many people in our offices who do not observe social distancing according to regulations. service, we were required that only 1% of the staff report to work and that 1% could not serve a normal load of people. “
Motsoaledi said that as lockdown levels were relaxed, they gradually restored services until October 1, 2020, when the country entered alert level 1.
Meanwhile, Motsoaledi said that certain essential services, including the movement of cargo and commercial goods, emergency medical treatment, opening for diplomats, deporting people and opening for people wishing to return home, will have access to the border gates.
“Even during the hard shutdown, we didn’t stop people from going to their countries. South Africans will also be allowed to go home.”
“Students from neighboring countries, who attend school in South Africa every day and return home, especially those in Maseru who attend schools in various parts of the Free State, will continue to do so,” Motsoaledi said.
