Who’s next? Ramaphosa expresses virus concerns for Sarah Baartman District and the Garden Route
Image via Flickr/GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Thursday, 3 December 2020. The main talking points for the evening were restrictions for the newly-declared hotspot, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
“There are parts of our country where people are not compliant with restrictions and basic prevention measures are not being followed.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ADDRESSES THE NATION
NEW COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE
Ramaphosa also expressed concern as COVID-19 infections continue to soar across the country. With that in mind, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro was declared as South African’s newest hotspot.
Read more about Nelson Mandela Bay restrictions here. While no new restrictions were imposed in other parts of the country, the president warned that hotspot status would be on the cards if the situation doesn’t turn around.
POSSIBLE HOTSPOTS: AREAS ON HIGH ALERT
SARAH BAARTMAN DISTRICT AND GARDEN ROUTE
President Ramaphosa said hospital admissions were 4 900. He warned that if infections continue to soar in the Sarah Baartman District and the Garden Route, additional restrictions will be implemented in due course.
“There are three areas of the country that account for most of these new infections. These are Nelson Mandela Bay, the Sarah Baartman District in the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route in the Western Cape”.
In addition, health minister Zweli Mkhize will visit the Sarah Baartman District and the Garden Route. A decision will then be taken on how to reduce infections in these areas.
KWAZULU NATAL
KwaZulu Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said earlier his team is “extremely concerned about the increase of new COVID-19 cases in the province over the past four weeks. That said, the resurgence threshold not being crossed yet.
“Over the past week, the figures have jumped substantially, with the number of new cases increasing by 30%. The province is monitoring resurgence indicators very closely and has not reached the resurgence threshold – although in the past week the number of cases have been fluctuating”.
Zikalala added that these indicators will be monitored on a daily basis. He warned that if the “resurgence indicators are triggered, the Provincial Resurgence Plan will be implemented”.
