Parties at odds over Covid curbs
Premier against another hard lockdown
PLANS to reintroduce restrictions such as curfews and limit the sale of alcohol to stem a second wave of Covid-19 have parties divided as to precisely what course of action is needed to curb infections.
The DA said plans by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to impose restrictions such as a 10pm to 4am curfew and limiting alcohol sales to between Monday and Thursday in Covid-19 hotspot areas such as the Eastern Cape must be condemned.
According to reports, a meeting of the NCCC on Tuesday agreed that a sensible course of action to curb the rising Covid-19 infection rates in the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape would be imposing such restrictions, which would also see restaurants and bars being forced to stop serving food and alcohol at 9pm.
Although it is not clear when the NCCC will officially confirm these restrictions, this has been necessitated by the latest infection rate figures from the Eastern Cape, as released by the National Department of Health, depicting the province’s infection rate at 127 737 on Monday.
This saw a jump of more than 1 000 in infections by Tuesday afternoon as the figure sat at 128 889, an increase of 1 152 in infections over the course of 24 hours.
Dean Macpherson, DA MP and spokesperson on trade and industry, said such restrictions and curfews would be devastating to the South African economy and thousands of restaurants across the country that have only begun to get back on their feet following a protracted lockdown.
Premier Alan Winde used yesterday’s Presidential Co-ordinating Council (PCC) meeting to argue against a lockdown being imposed on the province, and in favour of targeted, local interventions based on scientific evidence.
Winde said: “The discussion this morning was about the Garden Route and the Eastern Cape and looking at measures in which to curtail the spread of this virus. The Western Cape has seen a resurgence of Covid-19 in recent weeks and the increase in cases must be carefully monitored and managed. The Western Cape does not, however, support a lockdown being imposed on the province.”
However, the IFP, EFF, ACDP and UDM agreed that such restrictions were necessary to curb the spread of the virus and subsequently save lives.
EFF national spokesperson Vuyani Pambo said: “This is all about people’s lives. The government needs to take scientific measures, not some thumbsucked rules that do not fall in line with science.
“So if those regulations are within the logic of science and curbing of the spread of Covid-19, then it makes sense.”
Narend Singh, the IFP’s chief whip in Parliament, said that they would not be surprised if certain areas had certain restrictions imposed given the fact that there was a spike in infection in areas such as the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape.
Wayne Thring, deputy president of the ACDP, said that they preferred the approach of isolating hotspot areas instead of “onerous restrictions” on the entire economy, and that the government should have used targeted interventions in areas that experienced outbreaks.
UDM leader General Bantu Holomisa said: “The aim is to save the lives of many in this country, so we cannot
question at this stage their scientific approach because all we know is that we are burying people now and again. If it is intended to save lives then yes, we support it.”
Cameron Dugmore, ANC leader in the provincial legislature, said: “From the outset, the DA leadership tried to undermine the national lockdown. They called for the ban on alcohol and cigarettes to be lifted. They even spread mixed messages about the wearing of masks.
“It is ironic that the provincial government is now talking about its own lockdown. It is the clearest admission that they were wrong. As the ANC, we need to consider serious interventions in the hotspot areas. We do not support a blanket lockdown.”
Good Party’s Brett Herron added: “If the science and health professionals recommend that we need localised restrictions in order to reduce community transmission, then we have no choice but to follow that advice.
“It is unfortunate that the DA and the provincial government have spent the last seven months criticising and challenging the various lockdown rules that were implemented across our country.
“They have undermined the urgency and seriousness of the restrictions implemented by the national Covid-19 command council by consistently arguing that they were largely unnecessary.”