Article by Lindiwe Karosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed South Africans on the fourth day into the nationwide lockdown to give an update regarding the past 4 days, and the prospective measures the government aims to implement in the remaining 17 days. Here’s more:
Covid-19 fatalities
The president announced that South Africa’s death toll has risen to 3, and confirmed the increase of the positive cases to 1 326. This has pushed him to once again urge South Africans to only leave the house for essentials such as food and medicine.
New measures
The growing concern around South Africa’s preventative measures (or lack thereof) has pushed for a screening, testing and medical managing process to be implemented especially in remote areas. 10 000 field workers will be employed to conduct this door-to-door campaign as a means to flatten the curve. It is unclear at this point how citizens will be able to verify the legitimacy of these workers when they knock on their doors.
Economic decline
South Africa’s economic woes have now worsened as the country has been downgraded to junk status by Moody’s. This comes at a time when the government is dealing with the economical implications attached to the current nationwide lockdown.
Patriots and philanthropist
President Ramaphosa announced donations received from the Motsepe Foundation & Naspers of R1 billion and R1.5 billion respectively. He also thanked Jack Ma of the Alibaba Foundation for his generous donation of medical supplies to South Africa, and other African countries.
The Ranch evacuated
Students and workers repatriated from plagued Wuhan two weeks ago have now evacuated The Ranch Resort. The group of more than 100 people was quarantined for 14 days, and tested twice as a safety precaution. All their tests came back negative.
Please stay home
The president emphasized the importance of staying home to prevent further distress that may be brought about by an extension of these current measures. He highlighted a few groups such as children, informal traders and the elderly or frail who might be experiencing greater distress than others due to this nationwide lockdown.
He thanked the various governmental and non-governmental structures that have worked tirelessly to ensure that citizens adhere to regulations, and once again thanked frontline workers who risk their lives on a daily basis to assist in the fight against the pandemic.
For more updates, visit our website and remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Tags: #Coronavirus #Covid19 #Lockdown
