KZN premier warns against Covid-19 complacency

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala stands in front of the congregation at a church service.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala speaks during a communion service at Umphumulo Diocesan Centre in KwaDukuza on Sunday. Image: supplied/KZN provincial government

Published Sep 28, 2020

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DURBAN - Despite the drop in positive Covid-19 infections in South Africa and the KwaZulu-Natal province, Premier Sihle Zikalala is determined to ensure that citizens adhere to the regulations laid out by the government.

Zikalala, speaking during a communion service of Reverend Nkosinathi Msawenkosi Myaka at Umphumulo Diocesan Centre in KwaDukuza, on the provinces’ north coast, said that the country and province could not afford to be complacent.

“If it can happen to those first-world countries, it can happen to us. Therefore, let us not leave anything to chance, and ensure that we follow all the Covid-19 precautions. We cannot afford to be complacent,” said Zikalala.

“There are still many unknowns and anxieties about the Covid-19 pandemic. We are still concerned and anxious about the second wave which we are told is likely to be much stronger than the first wave.”

The premier made reference to the number of recorded cases in the United Kingdom, a nation that has since moved back into lockdown due to the looming second wave of infections.

The Telegraph reported that since June 29, various regions around the UK have entered into what has been called a “local lockdown” or in South African terminology, a “district model”.

The district model was first brought to public attention in May 2020 by the Department of Health. It consists of the country being divided into 52 regions, with each region being assessed at its level of infection. This model, however, was not implemented during the early stages of the lockdown as it would have been a logistical nightmare.

Employees who needed to travel across districts would be stranded and businesses that operate inter-provincially would have been cut off at the knees.

But Professor Salim Abdool Karim, a South African epidemiologist and infectious-diseases specialist who is also a prominent figure in the fight against Covid-19, said the country may now be ready to adapt to the local lockdown model.

According to Karim, if South Africa is hit with a second wave similar to that of European nations, the country will have to enter into the localised lockdown.

In late July, Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said the district model needed to be “urgently” implemented.

Dlamini Zuma said the model would be instrumental in addressing social inequalities that have been made more severe by the health crisis.

"This is a fundamental feature of the district development model, which we have had to roll out with urgency since it is a central feature in our response to Covid-19. We need not fear the pandemic, because it also offers us an opportunity to reset our outlook.

“Through our responses we can claw back the possibility of a more equal, sustainable and just society, where leaders are active facilitators in development,” said the minister.

- African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher

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