ANC in Gauteng supports economic activity, but says lives must be respected

The ANC in Gauteng believes economic activity in the province should continue, despite the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases.

The party’s provincial secretary, Jacob Khawe, said different preventative measures may have to be implemented in the province’s hotspots.

Khawe said the party pleaded with the province’s residents, who seemingly were not concerned about the Covid-19 pandemic to change their individual behaviour as a way of tackling the disease.

Khawe said during an interview with the eNCA that the ANC in the province was worried about the spread of the disease and the behaviour of people who seemingly did not care about others by failing to observe measures meant to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Khawe said the party had asked a number of stakeholders, including NGOs and the government to start a conversation on what can be done to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the province.

He said the party’s biggest concern was about saving lives and said measures should be implemented in the province to restrict the spread of Covid-19.

These measures, however, should be implemented while economic activity in the province continues, with saving lives being a priority, “that’s the biggest worry of the ANC in the province”, Khawe said.

The ANC in the province is pleased with government’s report on preparations that have taken place, such as increasing hospital bed capacity and converting the Nasrec conference centre to a Covid-19 hospital, Khawe said, adding that the party was, however, worried that if the numbers of recorded Covid-19 cases grow faster than the ability to respond to the pandemic then the province would end up with an unwanted crisis.

Khawe said the party in the province would like to emphasise the measure that individual behaviour is key to tackling Covid-19.

“Because after all people who behave like there’s nothing, people who behave like its fine, kwamalume [it’s their uncle’s place], yonke into i-right [everything is okay], they actually need to come to their senses and we want to plead with them,” Khawe said.

The provincial government has said that it would not ask for a hard lockdown to be implemented in the province in the wake of the surge in the recorded cases of Covid-19 but would ask for stricter measures.

ANC responds to raise of COVID-19 cases in Gauteng: ANC Gauteng Provincial Secretary Cde @JacobKhawe1 speaks to eNCA journalist Khayelihle Khumalo. #GautengCOVID19
Full Video: https://t.co/htOtUrBl4O pic.twitter.com/xDnFwxxUd7

— Gauteng ANC #VoteANC (@GautengANC) July 6, 2020

LIFE INSIDE NASREC ISOLATION WARD: We visited the quarantine/isolation site today to give support to workers and check on the facility. The facility has 50 quarantine beds and 420 isolation beds.
There are currently 126 residents in the facility.#GrowingGautengTogether pic.twitter.com/zti7z4D5vl

— Dr Bandile Masuku (@bandilemasuku) July 3, 2020

Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

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).