President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation at 20h00 on Thursday on the continuing efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The President’s address, on the eve of Good Friday, follows a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council held on Wednesday, and consultations that the President would have held during the course of the day with various social partners.
The Presidency announced this on Thursday in a statement to the media.
About two weeks ago, President Ramaphosa announced a 21-day lockdown in South Africa to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
South Africa has recorded 1 845 cases, while 18 people have died due to the pandemic. The country has conducted a total of 63 776 COVID-19 tests.
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Meanwhile, President Ramaphosa says he’s impressed by the work done by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, in tracking the country’s COVID-19 cases.
Ramaphosa visited CSIR in Pretoria to give support and encourage those who are at the forefront in the fight against the pandemic.
“I’m delighted to have come here because this is where a platform of enabling the nation to deal with COVID-19 in a technological and scientific way and I’m hugely impressed.”
In an effort to boost the fight against the highly contagious virus, the private sector has also offered support.
About 20 000 health workers will now receive cellphones with an app to assist them in carrying out their jobs.
The President says that all South Africans can assist during this period by staying at home and slowing down the spread of the virus.
“As a nation, we should be proud that we have an institution like the CSIR, which is always trying to be ahead of the curve in terms of bringing solution.”
While there is uncertainty over whether the 21-day lockdown will be extended, the government is looking at all options to fight the spread of the pandemic.
