As COVID cases continue to rise virtually unabated by the move to Level 2 lockdown, there are reportedly discussions at the National Coronavirus Command Council to tighten the lockdown restrictions.
The Gauteng government wants the province to have tighter lockdown restrictions, as it is host to about half of daily new infections of COVID in the country. Despite the high infection rate in the province, many in Gauteng are against tougher restrictions, such as the Gauteng Education Department and South African Council of Churches. Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says that she will speak to the National Coronavirus Command Council about the issue.
The province’s premier David Makhura said the province is asking for increased measures. “Level 2 as we know it currently is not having a sufficient impact,” he said. “People are going on as if we are really not in the middle of a raging pandemic.”
With Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital being indefinitely closed, the pressure is mounting on both public and private facilities which running out of ICU beds.
“So, we talk to the private hospitals almost on a daily basis, and they do indicate to us that they are running almost at about 80% of their capacity for ICU. In the public hospitals, we are also running at about 70%,” said Thabo Masebe, communications head of the Gauteng government.
He confirmed that the province was looking for tougher restrictions to curb new infections.
“That’s what the premier had said. He will be raising that with national government to see what added restrictions could be made to help slow down the rate of infections in the province,” Masebe said.
Source: ENCA
