Gauteng Covid-19 storm

New infections rate in economic hub could force rethink on lockdown regulations

GAUTENG Premier David Makhura has sent the strongest warning yet that the province faces a Covid-19 catastrophe unless there’s major behavioural changes.

He called on all citizens to change their attitude towards the pandemic by adhering to the health regulations laid down by the government.

The provincial government is considering urging the National Coronavirus Command Council to reinstate some of the hard lockdown regulations as positive cases continue to escalate in Gauteng.

The premier said the provincial government was currently preparing for a peak in coronavirus infections.

“It is quite clear that we are going to have to do some of the things that are extraordinary. Some of them may mean asking the command council to introduce some of the restrictions we have had in the earlier phases,” Makhura said.

With 45 944 confirmed cases by noon yesterday, Makhura said the daily cases had increased to 3 000 people a day, with hospitalisation and death rates increasing.

This comes as the Gauteng coronavirus command council warned that sending 1 million more learners back to school on Monday would be a major catastrophe given the staggering spike in infections.

Makhura said bringing more learners back to schools could potentially put pressure on a system already overwhelmed by the growing number Covid19 cases.

“We are concerned about adding a big number of learners because our system is okay with the Grades 7 and 12 at the moment. We are managing that risk at that level, and we are worried about the way we want to bring more learners. It may just put more pressure on what the system is able to carry at the moment,” he said.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga yesterday made a U-turn on the plan for the return of all learners, saying only Grade 6, Grade 11 and Grade R would do so on Monday. This was a major climbdown from an earlier decision for the rest of the grades to join the Grade 7s and 12s who returned to school at the beginning of June.

Motshekga said the decision affected all provinces, and that the other grades would be phased-in this month in a differentiated approach within the stipulated time frames as per the Gazette of June 29, published by the minister.

“We will adjust the reopening phases based on the risk-adjusted strategy which is a considered attempt to balance our approach to school reopening taking into account all factors that affect the work we do.

“We are guided in this by an observation of the rising numbers of community transmissions throughout the country. We recognise that schools are based in communities and learners live in the same affected communities and therefore a careful balancing act must be maintained,” said Motshekga.

The minister will at the weekend elaborate on the revised plans with the goal of phasing-in the remaining grades to allow schools to reach normality by next month.

Gauteng had by yesterday recorded 687 cases of learners and teachers who tested positive for the virus. So far 71 schools have been closed for decontamination.

At least 59 schools in Tshwane South and 18 in Tshwane North were affected.

Gauteng also had the highest number, at 35 410, of the 83 308 active cases which has coincided with a significant drop in the number of recoveries.

Makhura said the increase in positive cases had been exponential over the last 14 days, with 144 of those who were hospitalised being placed on ventilators.

“Just a month ago we had only four people who were on ventilators. This is something very important to send out the message that the storm is here and we have to weather this storm here. The health services and our health workers are under pressure,” Makhura said.

He slammed residents who continued to ignore stipulated preventative measures which saw massive infections in funerals in the province, adding that law enforcement alone would not help contain the spread of the virus.

“We think there is a case for localised harder lockdown in some of the areas where things are just getting out of hand and people are not observing any of the measures that have been put in place,” he said.

He painted a bleak picture of the road ahead, especially with the country getting into the winter season.

“The pandemic is moving much faster. July is going to be a very difficult month,” he said.

Makhura was concerned with the behaviour of many people frequenting the CBDs in Joburg and Tshwane.

The provincial executive committee would be meeting tomorrow to examine the Covid-19 related issues.

“As a provincial command council we are having consultation processes to make representation to the national command council on reinstating some of the harsher, stringent measures.”

Some of the stringent measures, he said, may include issues pertaining to alcohol sale. “We can’t throw our hands in the air and say there is nothing we can do,” Makhura said.

The command council was in consultation with the churches with regard to compliance.

He pleaded with the public to ensure that they wore masks and not be all over the place.

Makhura said the province needed 600 beds in June and for July it would need 2 077 beds.

“There will be an extra 2 077 beds by the end of July, but we will still need more,” Makhura said.

Work was currently under way to construct field hospitals.