Bay tops Cyril s naughty list ’
Metro designated Covid-19 hotspot, with new restrictions
Nelson Mandela Bay residents have not been playing ball and with Covid-19 cases rapidly rising, the metro was a major focus when President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation last night.
Saying it was not a punishment, Ramaphosa announced a number of new restrictions pertaining only to the Bay.
With more than 4,178 cases as of December 2, Ramaphosa said the restrictions placed on the metro “were needed to contain the spread of the virus and to save lives”.
Ramaphosa declared the metro a Covid-19 hotspot and announced the suspension of retail alcohol sales over weekends and limits on the number of people who could gather for events.
The new regulations for the Bay are:
● A curfew from 10pm to 4am;
● The sale of alcohol from retail outlets will only be permitted between 10am-6pm from Monday to Thursday;
● Alcohol consumption in public spaces, such as beaches and parks, is strictly forbidden.
This, Ramaphosa said, was necessary to prevent large social gatherings;
● Gatherings
— including religious gatherings — may not be attended by more than 100 people for indoor events and 200 for outdoor events;
● Post-funeral gatherings known as “after-tears ” parties are prohibited; and
● No initiation schools will be allowed to operate in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Ramaphosa said no-one, bar essential services personnel, would be allowed out after 10pm.
The rest of SA will continue with the midnight curfew.
“To prevent large social gatherings, alcohol consumption in public spaces such as our beautiful beaches is strictly prohibited.
“These measures are necessary to contain the resurgence experienced in the metro, to prevent outbreaks and protect capacity of our health system,” he said.
His announcements came a day after Bay acting mayor Thsonono Buyeye announced an immediate ban on gatherings in public open spaces and also the holding of events in the city.
Ramaphosa said despite the progress SA had made, it had always been known that a second wave was possible if serious measures were not taken to protect people.
“There are three areas of the country that account for most of these new infections,” he said.
“These are Nelson Mandela Bay and the Sarah Baartman district in the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route district in the
Western Cape. Hospital admissions in these districts are on the rise, in some instances comparable to those during the first wave of infections,” he said.
“In the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, there has been an increase in both reported Covid-19 deaths and excess deaths.
“There are a number of reasons for the rise in transmission.
“Many people are travelling between provinces and within each province in higher numbers, especially with the festive season approaching.”
Ramaphosa said several hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay had reported a rise in alcohol-related trauma admissions.
He said this diverted the capacity that was needed to deal with Covid-19-related cases.
“But by far the greatest contributing cause of infections is that many people are not wearing masks, and are not observing proper hygiene and social distancing.
“As I said during our last family meeting, at alert level one, we have the measures we need to control the virus,” the president said.
“But our main problem is that there are parts of the country where people are not complying with the current restrictions and the basic prevention measures are not being followed.
In the first week of November, the country recorded an average of 1,500 new cases a day. By the last week of last month, this had almost doubled to an average of about 2,900 new cases a day.
On Wednesday, 4,400 new infections were recorded, the largest daily increase in infections since the middle of August.
The total number of hospital admissions is now more than 5,800 nationally and increasing.
Three weeks ago, hospital admissions were 4,900.
Ramaphosa said that after extensive consultation with traditional leaders, the summer initiation season in the province could go ahead.
No announcement was made on the restriction of travel between provinces.
However, Ramaphosa cautioned against unnecessary travel during the festive season.
The summer season is traditionally a time for social gatherings, attending festivals and events, and socialising at weddings, religious gatherings and in both public and private spaces.
“These social gatherings can be super-spreader events that carry a huge risk of transmission of the virus.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber president Andrew Muir said he agreed with the extra regulations for the Bay announced by the president.
Considering how strained
our health system is, it was the right call,” he said.
“The Covid units of our hospitals are at capacity in terms of the number of staff available. ”
Related to this was the president’s introduction of a 10pm curfew and his call on no drinking in public spaces made sense because of the threat of super-spreader events.
These measures would together reduce the pressure on casualty departments and free up staff for Covid work, he said.
Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Church Leadership chair Bishop Jacob Freemantle said the president had been fair.
“Considering what we are experiencing, I would pledge my support and respect to this statement and encourage people not to listen to those who see it as a punishment.”
He said the president’s reduction of church numbers from 250 to 100, or half the capacity of the church building, was also fair.
“Any responsible leader should be positive about this because it is about saving lives in our metro.
“People are stressed, but we must obey the rules so we can get over this thing.”
Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa Eastern Cape chair Nkosi Mweli Nonkonyana said the speech was good news.
“Initiation should continue but we should stick to strict health protocols.
“We and the government are one on that.
“We also support the president in his declaration of Nelson Mandela Bay as a hotspot and therefore no initiations in the Bay.
“We cannot afford to have our boys there exposed to danger.
“Once we are satisfied we are winning this thing, we will not hesitate to knock on the door of the president again to fight for the rite of passage of these boys as well.”