Cape Town - Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has indicated that he will be writing to President Cyril Ramaphosa after Health Minister Zweli Mkhize's presentation to the National Council of Provinces on the Covid-19 response.
According to Winde, in the presentation by the minister, he indicated that some hot spots could remain on level 4 when the rest of the country moves to level 3 on 1 June.
"I will seek clarity from the president on this matter as he was very clear in his address on Sunday that the whole country would move to level 3, with the hot spots being re-evaluated every two weeks. The province has not received any direct indication from national government that this was not the case.
"In any province, it would be very difficult to enforce some areas remaining on level 4, while others drop down to level 3. In the Western Cape, for instance, neighbouring towns could find themselves in different alert levels, complicating matters for people commuting for work," Winde said.
"It could also result in people breaking the rules to go to areas where the alert level is lower. It would require significant policing resources to enforce, and this should rather be used on ensuring physical distancing and implementing the response strategy in specific hot spots."
The premier said that for the Cape Town metro and other identified districts such as the Cape Winelands, West Coast District and Overberg District, remaining on level 4 would exacerbate the economic and humanitarian disaster that has resulted from the lockdown.
"Already, we anticipate the province will see more than 200 000 job losses as a result of the lockdown, and any further delays in easing the levels will result in more people losing their jobs and an even greater need for humanitarian relief. This should be taken seriously because it will cost lives in the future too.
"That is why we support the President’s decision on Sunday that the entire country move to level 3, in conjunction with the targeted hot spot strategy. This is what we presented to both the President and Minister Mkhize, and we look forward to working with all levels of government in implementing it."