Mkhize to lead all-out campaign to curb coronavirus in Nelson Mandela Metro

The Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize is expected to lead an inter-ministerial task team in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro on Thursday as part of an all-out campaign to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the city.

The Metro has in recent weeks become a COVID-19 hotspot and nearly half of the new cases reported nationally are coming from the province.

The focus will be on testing, tracing, and awareness as non-compliance seems to be the biggest driver behind the surge.

Nelson Mandela Bay is receiving attention at the highest level. The lack of compliance with the regulations is the red flag. A change in human behaviour is seen as key to halt the surge in infections in the Bay.

COVID-19 rapid testing to be rolled out in hotspot areas of Nelson Mandela Bay:

Residents in the metro have also witnessed a high level of non-compliance.  “There is a crisis is in our hands now as the community because we don’t comply at all with the regulations. So now we find ourselves in this mess. We need to change the way we do things and also because the government cannot do it all on their own,” says one of the residents.

Residents also want to see action against transgressors. “We want Mkhize to make sure that people are monitored more especially in taverns because people don’t wear masks when they are drunk and don’t sanitise. So, these places need to be monitored at least people must do a takeaway and not sit inside,” says another one.

The inter-ministerial task team will meet with city stakeholders and with community structures and traditional leaders as part of the efforts to halt the rapid spread of the virus.

Dr. Mkhize will be joined by his COGTA and Social Development counterparts Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Lindiwe Zulu.

The Ministers will also spearhead some of the awareness and compliance campaigns.

‘Insufficient doctors’

Meanwhile, Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba says the province has insufficient doctors to assist in COVID-19 wards. This is linked to the budget cuts in all government departments.

Gomba visited Nelson Mandela Bay ahead of Health Minister Mkhize’s inter-ministerial task team’s visit to the Metro.