City implements plans amid coronavirus concerns
Most public facilities in eThekwini have been closed or have restricted access.
eTHEKWINI Municipality has put tough measures in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in public spaces and facilities.
This follows the announcement of the National State of Disaster by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Durban Mayor, Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda, ordered the city management team to be vigilant and ensure that safety measures, including but not limited to hand sanitiser, wet wipes, continuous cleaning of public spaces and educating of public continues in municipal facilities and issued a directive that restrictions must be imposed in the following public facilities:
Swimming pools – all swimming pools will be closed, effective immediately for the duration of the lockdown.
Beach bathing – bathing at all beaches is now prohibited with immediate effect, however, lifeguards will remain on duty to monitor and ensure safety. Law enforcement will be engaged to monitor those who do not adhere to these measures.
Libraries – all municipal libraries will be closed.
Community halls – all functions are cancelled.
Cemeteries – the community is encouraged to limit the number of mourners to family members only or to restrict the mourners to not more than 50 at the cemetery during funerals. Mourners should keep to burial time slots allocated to prevent delays in accessing the cemetery.
Museums and Durban Art Gallery – closed to the public.
Arts and living cultures – all events, cultural or departmental programmes are cancelled indefinitely.
Gospel Iconic Discovery Competition – the 7th Gospel Iconic Discovery competition is now postponed, and new dates will be announced after Easter.
Parks – access to parks are not allowed.
Water – The municipality will provide water storage tanks in all informal settlements.
Mass care centres (victims of storm disaster) – there are 91 people remaining in four mass care centres. All facilities have access to water and ablutions. These centres will be provided with soap, sanitisers and education materials.
Hostels and communal residential units – hand sanitisers will be provided in the 10 communal residential units (hostels). These will be installed in bathrooms and access points and regularly filled by cleaning staff. There will be ongoing sanitation and cleaning of facilities to ensure hygiene for the 181 000 occupants. Consumer education teams and project liaison officers will be embarking on awareness campaigns and distribution of posters and pamphlets encouraging preventative measures.
Rental stock – hand sanitisers will be provided at entrances to all rental stock. There will be ongoing sanitation and cleaning of facilities to ensure hygiene.
Public transport – the municipality has 25 taxi ranks across the city and has already engaged with stakeholders within the industry to create awareness and bring alignment on measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
The following actions have been planned:
Public taxi ranks – the taxi industry is already distributing sanitisers to commuters. The municipality has improved cleaning of ablution facilities within taxi ranks to include sanitisers and ensure that they are continuously disinfected.
Buses operation (fleet) – a meeting has been held with bus operators and consensus reached that they will be procuring and installing hand sanitiser holders in buses. The drivers will receive gloves, masks and individual sanitisers.
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