The Walter Sisulu Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape says they will strengthen enforcement following a street bash in the area.
The Eastern Cape has been identified as a COVID-19 hotspot, with restrictions placed on gatherings. Despite their awareness campaign, the Municipality says people are not adhering to the rules, such as the wearing of masks and social distancing.
Infections spiked over a day and some people have not yet been tested. Walter Sisulu Municipal Mayor Bulelwa Khweyiya says they will adopt a tougher approach.
“We requested our law enforcers to go to these areas, remember we have parks, we have recreational facilities, we’ve closed those recreational facilities, but people, especially young people, decided to do bashes on the streets and in taverns around the municipality. Our next plan now, we are no longer going to warn people, together with the law enforcers we want the actions to be done because people are mingling without masks, so anyone who’s not adhering to the law, we are not going to smile.”
Latest coronavirus stats in SA:
Loading…
Eastern Cape monitors lockdown regulations through traffic safety operation:
Breakdown of infections according to provinces as of 16 December:
Increase in WC (from 2 785 yesterday to 3 233 today)
Increase in KZN (from 1 152 yesterday to 2 743 today)
Increase in GP (from 1 278 yesterday to 1 795 today)
Increase in NW (from 152 yesterday to 182 today)
Increase in LP (from 59 yesterday to 154 today)
Increase in MP (from 67 yesterday to 146 today)
Increase in FS (from 67 yesterday to 88 today)
Increase in NC (from 36 yesterday to 56 today)
Decrease in EC (from 1 956 yesterday to 1 619 today)
The Health Department says daily cases are growing exponentially. “Our positivity rate is sitting at 21%. This far exceeds the ideal positivity rate of 10%. We continue to assess the entire country and where we identify risks, we will engage and make a determination if further containment measures or restrictions are required.”
The department has also reported 166 more COVID-19 related deaths bringing the total to 23 827 deaths.
A cumulative total of 5 968 692 tests have been completed with 48 118 new tests conducted since the last report. The number of recoveries now stand now stands at 774 585.
