Call made to end ‘state of disaster’ amid decreasing Covid-19 stats

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is calling for an end to Covid-19-related regulations after record low case numbers and deaths were reportedly recorded last week.

The regulations were enforced by government to curb the spread of the virus since March 2020.

“A reflection of the hard facts can leave no doubt that South Africa is not currently in a ‘state of disaster’ due to Covid-19,” IRR’s campaigns head Gabriel Crouse said.

“However, on October 13, Cogta (cooperative governance and traditional affairs) minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma extended the state of disaster, which affords the executive she belongs to abnormal powers that have been repeatedly abused in irrational ways.”

Crouse further said the extension of the state of disaster showed “no regard for empirical data”.

According to the IRR, the country’s confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths fell to their lowest since the peak of the first wave last week.

“According to Oxford University’s OurWorldInData resource, the rolling average for daily Covid-19 associated deaths has fallen below 0,6 per million and daily cases are 10 per million.”

He said that while this was “undeniably good news that the public deserves to know”, they would have to apply pressure to government for it to “face the facts”.

“The IRR is channeling that pressure through its petition to disband the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and terminate the state of disaster so that civil rights may be restored,” Crouse said.

He also said that “mindful attention” to the case trends and deaths from the virus reportedly suggest that the fourth would only strike “in months”.

A statement issued by the cooperative governance department on October 13 explained that the state of disaster would be extended until November 15, 2021.

This was said to have been done in terms of section 27(5)(c) of the disaster management act, 2002 (act no. 57 of 2002).

“The decision to extend the state of the national disaster follows consultations with relevant stakeholders and cabinet approval.

“The extension takes into account the need to continue observing all non-pharmaceutical interventions against Covid and increasing vaccinations as part of contingency measures being taken to mitigate against its impact,” the statement said.

It further stated that the department remained committed to saving lives and ensuring that more people got vaccinated “as it is the only way” that the economy could safely be opened and people could go back to their “normal” lives.