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BREAKING: Beaches in KZN remain open despite spike in Covid-19 infections

A wave of relief. Holiday makers will still be able to enjoy the KZN beaches - for now, says KZN Premier.

HOLIDAYMAKERS and tourists planning to spend time on Beaches in Durban and other areas of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) heaved a sigh of relief on Friday, 11 December when the fears that beaches in the province would be closed proved unfounded. 

The anticipation of this move, which was put to rest moments ago by Premier of KZN, Sihle Zikalala, resulted in many stories spreading on the morning of Friday, 11 December, which claimed that the beaches had already been closed.

Second wave

The province has been reeling with a dramatic increase in new daily infections thought to be connected to a Rage party held in Ballito for learners who completed their last year of school.

Both Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and the KZN Premier, Sihle Zikalala, identified the party as a so-called ‘super-spreader event’.

ALSO READ: Matric rage gatherings identified as super-spreader events: Department of Health 

ALSO READ:  KZN Premier warns against holding super-spreader events

Festive plan

Zikalala today (11 December) was expected to outline KZN’s Festive Safety Plan, at a planned media briefing, to halt the rapid spread at Covid-19 cases in the province.

While he stopped short of guaranteeing that beaches might not still be closed, he did say for now there were no concrete plans to do so.

On Thursday the premier visited various tourism spots where many people congregate during the festive season, including Florida Road, to assess both the city’s and businesses’ readiness for the forthcoming festive season, which is usually a major income generator in the city and province.

Earlier this week Zikalala, responding to a news report in which Bheki Ntuli, MEC for Transport was quoted as calling for the closure of beaches to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, said no decision had been made.

This is a developing story. 

 

 


Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of publication, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.  

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Evelyn Morris

Feature Journalist and Photographer from Durban, KZN. She loves finding the exciting details behind a story and is passionate about digital content, social media and living in Durban. Eve is a single mum to a strikingly funny 11-year-old Whovian. More »

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