Police Minister Bheki Cele has stuck to his guns and has deployed the army in Cape Town to help enforce lockdown regulations.
On Friday night, soldiers started patrolling high-risk areas such as Kraaifontein and Cape Flats areas, like Mitchells Plain and Delft.
Under lockdown Level 3, beaches have been closed, alcohol sales banned and a curfew of 9pm to 6am is in effect.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed that the military started assisting SAPS with operations since Tuesday already.
It is understood that about 170 soldiers have been deployed.
“A contingent of SANDF members has since Tuesday, 5 January 2021, been supporting the SAPS in the Cape Town metropole with crime prevention initiatives at identified hotspots.
“The areas the deployments already covered include amongst others Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Delft, Kraaifontein, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Lentegeur, Samora Machel and Phillipi East.”
She added that the deployments focused on the Disaster Management Act regulations in relation to enforcing the curfew between 9pm and 6pm.
Meanwhile on the Garden Route, the SANDF members started with similar operations on Saturday.
The minister announced last week that he would ask for assistance from the army to patrol some areas as there were not enough cops due to officers contracting Covid-19, and others in self-isolation.
Military medical staff will also be assisting hospitals in Paarl and Worcester this week.
When asked which other areas the army is planning to operate in, in this week, Potelwa was tight-lipped: “Details about areas where the forces still have to focus on remains operational information that will not be discussed with external parties.”
Level 3 lockdown is supposed to end on 15 January, if the spike in the second wave of infections decreases.
Mitchells Plain resident Fareed Louw says: "Yes, I saw the army coming into Beacon Valley and it was good because people are abiding to the rules of the curfew.
“They must work with local CPF and ask where are the people causing crime in our areas and not just patrol. There are druglords here and they need to get out."
The military deployment will come as a relief in areas like Lavender Hill where there have been gang shootings which prompted residents to call for assistance from Cele.