President jokes about his mishap
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa joked with reporters and health workers yesterday over his mask mishap on national television, on Thursday evening.
Unfolding a vibrant coloured mask, while inspecting a Covid-19 treatment centre at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg yesterday, he said: “For those of you who were laughing at me yesterday, let me tell you something. I’m going to open a TV channel where I’m going to teach people how to put on a mask.
“So you can unroll how a mask is put on.” He burst into a broad grin, as people laughed with him.
The president was with Gauteng Premier Manemolla David Makhura and Health MEC Bandile Masuku, assessing the province’s plans to treat Covid-19 patients.
On Thursday evening, after announcing a relaxation of lockdown restrictions – from Level 5 to Level 4 – the president inspired hundreds of jokes on social media when he failed to put on his cloth mask properly, hooking it over his eyes and nose, instead of his mouth.
By Friday, the mood had changed on Twitter, with #CyrilFridays trending and the general consensus that the mask mishap made the president all the more human.
@QueenNands tweeted: “Man, how I love my president! I love that you were so visibly stressed about your mask, fiddling with it during your whole speech, and I love how you wanted to end off your very important speech with such an endearing act. #maskchallenge #CyrilFridays.”
@BiancavanWyk16 tweeted: “There’s nothing as appealing as a man that steps up during a crisis and takes control of a situation while making others feel safe. Even more appealing is when the same man can make you laugh.”