Magazine staff speak after mass closures
Asked why the Western Cape had significantly more Covid-19 infections than the rest of the country, Mkhize said one of the features of the pandemic in the province was the outbreak in “clusters” of infections. These were primarily in factories and busy retail areas.
Supermarkets
Mbombo said the provincial government had developed a new “supermarket etiquette” to guide the behaviour of both shop-owners and their customers.
Mkhize said he had been thoroughly briefed on the Western Cape government’s plans, and was “satisfied”.
He suggested political dynamics between the ANC and the DA-led Western Cape government would play no role in resource allocation, saying the province’s outbreak was considered “an outbreak in South Africa”, and all national resources would be made available to fight it.
Mkhize said government wants those who have tested positive, but are asymptomatic, to br hospitalised, not necessarily for treatment, but to keep them from infecting other people.
Quarantine
Equally, those who had been in contact with positive cases would need to be quarantined, the minister maintained. If they were not able to self-isolate in their homes, they would have to do accept being quarantined at state facilities. A doctor would make this determination, after inspecting such persons’ homes.
Mkhize said South Africa was being hamstrung in its efforts to ramp up testing further due to the global shortage of testing kits.
Winde said the provincial government had adopted a “whole of government” approach to “hotspots” and would deploy staff from multiple departments, and all necessary state agencies, to tackle the pandemic. This, to ensure the pandemic did not “explode” in these areas.
