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SowetanLive reports that with Covid-19 daily infections having exceeded the 4,000 mark in the past weekend, the government has been urged to consider moving the country to lockdown level 3 or to hit hotspot provinces and districts with localised restrictions.
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Saturday that the country had recorded 4,236 daily infections, bringing the number of active cases to 39,369. However, the country’s infection figures are not high enough for it to be considered the third wave as yet. SA is also going into the second week of phase two of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, currently targeting people who are over 60 years. Prof Mosa Moshabela from the University of KwaZulu-Natal said on Sunday that for the government to avoid the adverse effects of the third wave, new restrictions needed to be considered to limit movement of people. “A countrywide level 3 lockdown should be considered, if not that then maybe the government can target provinces and districts that are hotspots and impose level 3 and even an alcohol ban because alcohol encourages gatherings and movement of people,” said Moshabela. Under lockdown level 3, alcohol sales are only permitted at certain times, beaches and public parks are closed, a strict curfew is imposed, and there is a limit on numbers of people at gatherings. “If we don’t impose restrictions immediately, we will find ourselves piling up cases of infections and deaths. We have to learn from the mistakes from the second wave,” Moshabela warned. Prof Adrian Puren of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said the government needed to urgently put infrastructure in place such as ensuring hospital capacity and oxygen supplies.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lindile Sifile at SowetanLive
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