Community patrollers help keep coronavirus at bay
The patrollers are issued with essential services permits and are expected to work until the end of the lockdown.
The Boksburg police have deployed dozens of community patrollers to the community at shopping centres and social grant pay points in the city.
This came after Gauteng community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko called upon community patrollers and CPFs to join the fight against Covid-19 by supporting the police and members of the SANDF who are deployed to enforce the lockdown, in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In a statement issued by the Gauteng Department of Community Safety, Mazibuko said the move seeks to ensure compliance with the National Disaster Regulations.
“This decision was taken in the wake of what was observed on the first day of the lockdown, where it became apparent that many of Gauteng’s citizens are susceptible to possible infections because of non-compliance with the set standards, especially when conducting shopping,” said the MEC.
The roving Boksburg Advertiser team of journalists have been visiting different spots to observe the happenings in the different communities as the country’s 60 million citizens entered the new reality, Covid-19 lockdown.
Many retailers, including supermarkets, grocery stores, spaza shops and ATMs, in the city experienced high volumes of people during the first few days of the lockdown.
Some of the operating businesses put measures in place to ensure that social distancing takes place inside their buildings, but the long queues outside the stores were concerning as there was no social distancing in place.
On account of the little practise of social distancing, the department decided to deploy its patrollers to manage the situation, and things changed for the better as many people were seen taking precautions, including observing social distancing, as they were queuing at shopping centres and pay points in Boksburg.
As of Tuesday, March 31, South Africa had 1 353 confirmed coronavirus cases and five people have died from Covid-19, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday.
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