Festive season ‘shutdown’ threats amid lax Covid-19 attitude

Like most parts of the province, the King Cetshwayo district has seen an increase in arrests of people ignoring the curfew times over the last two months.

King Cetshwayo police cluster spokesperson, Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose, told Zululand Observer that residents have been in party mode since the country entered lockdown alert Level 1.

“We notice people are not maintaining social distancing and they blatantly ignore the curfew, especially over weekends. Some businesses such as taverns and shebeens do not respect the operational rules.”

Currently, King Cetshwayo has the third highest infection rate in the province with 10 471 confirmed cases as of Tuesday.

So far, 272 people have died from the virus. The infection rate has increased by 102 in just one week.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Zikalala said government was deeply concerned by people’s carefree attitude.

“Despite our warnings of a second wave of infections and deaths, it seems many people have thrown all caution to the wind and returned to their old ways.

“Gone are the masks, sanitising of hands and social distancing. We are still under a national lockdown.

“Looking at the statistics, going back into hard lockdown cannot be ruled out if there is no drastic change in our behaviour.”

Zikalala said a second wave will be more devastating, not only in terms of human lives, but also the impact on the already fragile economy.

“We call upon the business community – particularly those in the food and hospitality sectors – to ensure there is strict adherence to Level 1 lockdown regulations.

“It is of no use chasing profits today, only to be shut down by a hard lockdown tomorrow,” said Zikalala.

President Cyril Ramaphosa this week dismissed social media rumours that the country would return to Level 3 lockdown.

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