Cape Town – The need to wear face masks will remain even after the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said on Monday.
Dlamini used the example of China, where wearing masks have been the norm for years. She cautioned South Africans cannot afford to be lax about health protocols because of the risk it poses for transmitting the coronavirus to others – especially now that family visits are permitted.
“We are not safe until we are all safe,” Dlamini Zuma said.
She called all South Africans to be vigilant to defeat Covid-19 together.
"We must soldier on and work together. It is, indeed, in all our hands," Dlamini Zuma said.
"We still don't have a vaccine and still don't have a cure," she said.
Dlamini Zuma was briefing the nation on the new regulations governing the move to level 2 lockdown which President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Saturday.
The minister said the pandemic had called on all to make individual and collective sacrifices.
"It is only through united action and the pursuance of a common goal that we can overcome the pandemic.
"Consequently, we may still be called upon to make further sacrifices and act jointly toward the common goal of defeating the pandemic," Dlamini Zuma said.
Political Bureau