Health minister Zweli Mkhize has blamed an outdated slide in a presentation on Wednesday for creating fear that some parts of South Africa would remain on level-4 lockdown on 1 June.
“An old slide was presented stating hotspots would remain at level 4,” the minister said in a statement on Thursday. The slide was shown in a presentation he delivered to the national council of provinces. “That slide is now outdated and was inadvertently included in a presentation that had been updated.”
Mhize explained that the slide formed part of a presentation previously done by the health department prior to the National Coronavirus Command Council resolving the final approach to be adopted.
The slide pre-dates President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech to the nation on Sunday in which he said the entire country would move to level-3 lockdown on 1 June. Level 3 will significantly relax the lockdown rules, allowing millions of South Africans to return to work.
Mkhize said government has “taken measures to identify areas that have been defined as epidemiological hotspots. As clearly explained by the president in his speech, these are areas that have more than five infected people per 100 000 population, or areas where infections are increasing at a fast pace.”
Government, he said, has taken steps to intervene in areas that are regarded as hotspots by deploying experts and specialists who will implement measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
‘Constant assessment’
“These areas also require heightened levels of tracing of contacts of positive patients, ensuring that those who are positive remain in quarantine or isolation and those who cannot self-quarantine are accommodated in quarantine facilities provide for by provinces.”
Even as the whole country moves to level 3, government will ensure there is “constant assessment of each and every area and its rate of infection”. If necessary, further containment measures and restrictions “may be considered”.
“If the spread of the infection is not contained despite the above-mentioned interventions, government will make a determination on whether to return that specific area (metro, district, sub-district or ward) to alert level 4 or 5”.
“This will be done rapidly and in an effort to contain and manage the spread, and also to ensure that our health facilities are not overwhelmed by the rapid rise of positive cases in that area,” Mkhize said. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media