Virus casts shadow over Ironman
City seeks government’s guidance on staging championship, Splash Festival
With the Ironman African Championship and Splash Festival just around the corner, Nelson Mandela Bay is turning to the national health department — in the face of the global coronavirus crisis — for guidance on how to deal with these major events.
This as the Covid-19 virus is also set to scupper the Isuzu Southern Kings’ next away match against Italian side Zebre.
Kings interim head coach Robbi Kempson said he believed the match would be cancelled.
Bay bed-and-breakfast owners have noted a slump in bookings ahead of the Ironman, which is scheduled to take place in Port Elizabeth on March 29.
The Splash Festival is due to be held next month, with it traditionally taking place over the Easter weekend.
More than 116,100 people have been infected by the coronavirus globally — including seven in SA — and more than 4,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally of government announcements.
Acting city manager Noxolo Nqwazi said yesterday that the municipality had concerns over the virus and was also aware of the fears surrounding it, and “realised we needed to look at it internally and take measures”.
When it came to big events — such as the Ironman and Splash Festival — at which large numbers of people would be gathered in close contact, it would ask the health department for advice.
On Monday night, tourism minister Mmamoloko KubayiNgubane said the tourism industry was in crisis and though the department would try to mitigate the effects, “I must make it clear that the decisions that will be taken going forward, depending on how this situation evolves, will be based on putting South Africans first.
“Protecting the health of South African citizens is of utmost importance for our government.”
Kubayi-Ngubane said to mitigate the potential negative impact on businesses and jobs, the department would engage the National Treasury to assist businesses in distress and to negotiate with event owners “to postpone [the events] to future dates based on scenarios so that we minimise cancellations”.
Port Elizabeth Metro Bed and Breakfast Association chair Shena Wilmot said though it had not noted many cancellations yet, there had been a slump in bookings.
“I think people are very hesitant to book now.
“There is a lot of panic and I think in general people are wary about travelling, particularly foreigners,” she said.
Wilmot said she suspected people were also worried about countrywide travel bans being implemented once they were out of their own countries.
Nqwazi said a decision had been taken to write to the national health department to inform it of the big upcoming events in the city.
She said though the Ironman African Championship was not classified as an international event, the national government should be made aware of the influx of foreigners it would bring to the Bay.
“We are not sure that national government is aware how many international people come for the event so we will inform them and then they can provide us with guidelines.”
Municipal disaster management head Shane Brown said only if a disaster was declared would the metro be able to implement sections of the Disaster Management Act, which would trigger bylaws to prevent the spread of the virus.
“The lead organisations are responsible for advising us if our assistance or advice is needed.
“We are one of the very few municipalities with a bylaw in place to implement actions that force events to be cancelled and restrict the movement of residents,” he said.
“This, however, is only doable after a disaster is declared.
“As an interim measure, the directorate has discussed the possibility of the effect that this could have on emergency service personnel and reaction times to quarantine members who are possibly exposed to the virus.
“We have contingency plans in place to deal with this issue should it arise.”
Ironman SA spokesperson Siya Ndzimande said the Ironman African Championship was going ahead as scheduled, for now.
“We are monitoring the situation with public health officials to follow and implement measures dictated by health agencies and governments.
“At this stage, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases has not proposed altering arrangements for public events, and therefore we will be proceeding with the Ironman African Championship as planned.”
Ndzimande failed to answer several other questions as to what measures were in place, how many international competitors were expected, how many — if any — had pulled out and if there was a possibility that the event would be postponed.
General practitioner Dr Peter Schwartz, who works at Netcare Greenacres Hospital, said the cancellation of large events, in the face of global health scares, was international best practice and he believed the same should apply to the
Bay. “I know that the World Surfing League is reviewing its events to possibly postpone them as a precaution.
“It is international best practice for large events to be postponed, even events bigger than this one [Ironman].”
He said a postponement due to the high risk was in order “until we know more about this virus”.
Schwartz pointed to health and safety measures recently implemented at Netcare Hospitals across the country as well as events that had been cancelled and worldwide travel bans as a measure of how seriously the virus was being taken.
“We have so many events
worldwide that are being postponed or precautions implemented to safeguard people against this virus.
“We need this to be happening here,” he said.
Netcare, in a statement, said protocols ensuring that people who entered its hospitals cleaned their hands and were verbally screened had been put in place.
Netcare Group CEO Dr Richard Friedland said visiting times were being restricted, as was the number of people who could visit at any given time.
On Monday, a reporter visiting Netcare’s Greenacres Hospital in Port Elizabeth was provided with hand-sanitiser and asked questions about overseas travel before being given the all-clear — and a pink sticker — to prove screening had taken place.
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Monday that SA had not restricted the movement of people through its borders, amid calls for the country to take stronger measures to try to prevent the spread of the virus.
He said SA had not taken any decisions on whether to cancel tourism and sports events, as well as conferences.
“The ministers were discussing those issues.
“As soon as they have consulted with the president and with the cabinet, they will make the necessary announcements.”
Meanwhile, some international companies have also restricted travelling of staff as a preventive measure.
Isuzu spokesperson Denise van Huyssteen said plans were in place to deal with any potential infections.
“We have placed a limitation on international travel.
“To date, we have not been impacted by any disruptions and have sufficient components to ensure the continued production of our vehicles.”