Third wave is upon us, says Tshwane mayor

“We are now truly in the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Tshwane mayor Randall Williams said on Monday.

His remarks follow a consistent week-on-week increase in the number of active coronavirus cases in the metro.

“It is important we all adhere to adjusted level 2 lockdown regulations and continue to be vigilant while practising safety measures such as wearing masks, washing hands regularly and social distancing,” said Williams.

The number of active cases stood at 6 492 earlier this week, compared to 4 444 cases on the same day last week.

“New confirmed cases are also increasing, ranging between 800 and 900 cases per day,” he said.

With the ongoing increase in the number of active cases, Williams also reiterated that the metro was continuing with its vaccination programme.

“I would like to call on those who are eligible to register for vaccination in this current phase of the roll-out, to please do so – particularly persons over 60,” he said.

Williams added that they had qualified and professional staff at all of their vaccination sites who were committed to the cause and would prioritise every eligible individual who came for vaccination.

Almost two weeks ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa briefed the country on the latest measures which would be implemented to curb the spread of the deadly virus as the number of active cases continued to increase.

During his national address, he said Gauteng, the North West, Northern Cape and Free State had all reached the threshold of the third wave of infections.

“It may only be a matter of time before the country as a whole will have entered a third wave,” he said.

Ramaphosa further announced an adjustment to ongoing restrictions including the adjusted curfew, the closing time of non-essential establishments and the number of people who were allowed to gather both in and outdoors, among others.

The new curfew was from 23:00 to 04:00; a 22:00 closure time for non-essential establishments such as restaurants, bars and fitness centres. A maximum number of 100 people at indoor events while a maximum of 250 people was allowed at outdoor events.

“Funerals remain restricted to no more than 100 people and, as before, night vigils, after-funeral gathering and after-tears gatherings are not allowed,” Ramaphosa said.

He further said it remained unclear how severe the third wave would be nor how long it would last.

“According to scientists that advise government, the severity of this third wave will largely be determined by the amount of contact each of us has with other people,” he said.

Ramaphosa added that it meant that all people had to think about the people they came into contact with daily and do everything they could to limit their contacts.

“Wherever possible, we should cut down on our contacts during this time.”

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