Government prepares mass graves
Government is bracing itself for more Covid-19 deaths during the winter season.
As part of the response to this, the MEC for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Leaders (Cogta), Mandla Msibi, has instructed municipalities to look for vacant land to be turned into mass graveyards.
The province currently has 61 coronavirus cases with 22 recoveries, while the national figure has reached the 10 000 mark.
“We have instructed local municipalities that, for a worst-case scenario, to check for sites where we can have mass burials of our people if the pandemic reaches the stage of China, Italy, America and other countries that have undergone such a scenario.”
Msibi told Lowvelder Express during an exclusive interview on Tuesday that government is very worried about people’s behaviour and attitude towards this virus.
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“This is not what we want and wish for, but indicators and the current trends point in that direction. We have a serious problem with compliance. Our people aren’t complying with the lockdown regulations and risk being infected. The only time you see people complying is when they see police and the soldiers.”
He stressed that if not handled carefully, the virus will be much worse and may kill a lot of people.
“The disease is going to be catastrophic, because we have seen in Europe as it was winter that it has killed many people with many more infected.
“We are fast approaching our winter and government is doing all it can, but with the winter season coming, and with the people behaving irresponsibly, we believe that this thing is going to kill many people. And this is the reason why we are getting ourselves ready for anything. We need to prepare in advance,” stressed Msibi.
He appealed to the general public to adhere to the lockdown regulations to help lessen the spread. “These are difficult times, and we have to work together in minimising this pandemic,” concluded Msibi.
