The head of the eThekwini Metro Police, Steve Middleton, has placed an immediate moratorium on the use of alcohol breathalysers at road blocks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This comes after a voice note sent internally about the temporary ban of the device went viral on social media.
“This is because of the risk of the coronavirus and we do not want to put the drivers as well as the members of metropolitan police service at risk. Hence we are not going to use the breathalyser for now. The breathalyser was just a mechanism to check whether a person has been drinking alcohol or not; we will go through the conventional method where we will look at signs in terms of a drunken driver.”
Metro police spokesperson, Parboo Sewpersad, says roadblocks will continue but motorists will be tested using other methods.
24 confirmed cases
South Africa has reported 24 confirmed cases of coronavirus with patients ranging from the age of 21 to 79. Of the new cases; Gauteng registered four, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape each registering two more cases. All patients had travelled overseas to countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Greece.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says that all the people that had come into contact with the new patients are being traced.
More than 128 000 people have been diagnosed in 118 countries across the globe, with at least 4 600 deaths.
In the video below, the World Health Organisation says sends a warning ahgainst COVID-19 as China battles to contain the outbreak.
