KZN likely to become new Covid-19 epicentre, says Premier
The premier warned everyone to strictly adhere to the lockdown regulations and limit social interaction, as the province braces itself for the peak of the virus.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has warned that the province is on the brink of becoming the new Covid-19 epicentre as it has recorded the highest number of new cases since the beginning of August.
According to the premier, last week KZN had recorded more than 100 000 Covid-19 cases and registered more than 1 500 deaths.
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The premier warned everyone to strictly adhere to the lock-down regulations and limit social interaction, as the province braces itself for the peak of the virus.
He encouraged anyone who displayed symptoms of the virus to go to state facilities. On the South Coast, The Estuary Hotel and Port Edward Resort have been identified as self isolation facilities for those who have nowhere to self-isolate.
The premier said that law-enforcement agencies would be out in full force to ensure regulations were being respected.
“The provincial government has also noted with serious concern that some people still continued to go out in public without wearing masks.”
Not wearing a mask in public has been declared a criminal offence in terms of the regulations of the lock-down, he warned.
“We have noticed that people are now lowering their guard and we would like to warn against doing so as we enter this phase of increasing numbers of infections in our province,” he said.
He said even more worrying were people that continued to visit places of entertainment, car washes and shisa nyamas, where they gathered in groups.
“We are now on the verge of becoming the epicentre of this deadly pandemic. This means many more people are getting infected, and many more may die if we don’t change our behaviour,”he said.
The premier appealed to public transport authorities to ensure that taxis, buses and trains were sanitised to protect passengers from being infected.
He also urged with those who presented with symptoms to attend one of the state facilities in the province instead of self-isolating at home.
“Government has worked hard to create thousands of beds for quarantine and isolation. There is still a lot of space available,” he said.
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