Pretoria - Tshwane is zooming in on areas around the metro in a bid to identify Covid-19 hot spots, its spokesperson Selby Bokaba has said.
Bokaba said the City’s department of health was compiling statistics on a weekly basis and visiting areas perceived to be hot spots as part of its outreach campaign to curb the spread of Covid-19.
He said shopping complexes, taxi ranks and other places of high population density were targeted, including Sammy Marks Square, which was visited yesterday to commence this week’s campaign.
Bokaba said last week the City acknowledged there had been a decrease in Covid-19 active cases. There were 641 active Covid-19 cases in Tshwane on Monday last week.
Bokaba said this was a decrease from 762 the previous week. “Generally, we have see some changes in areas where we intervened,” he said.
“There are still some problematic areas, including shebeens and other super-spreaders, where people do not wear masks, there is no use of 70% alcohol content sanitisers and no social distancing.
“These areas are a great concern because young people go and contract the virus and take it home to their elderly parents and grandparents.
“However, we are also happy that people show that they take this virus seriously. Some people have lost relatives and friends due to this virus and know that they need to abide by safety regulations.
“We hope to see more and more people complying so that lives can be saved,” said Bokaba.
Mayor Randall Williams said the latest stats showed an increase to 741 cases by yesterday.
Williams said this represented an increase in active Covid-19 cases compared to the previous week, a reminder that Covid-19 had not yet been eliminated.
He said: “With this in mind, I urge all Tshwane residents to continue to adhere to regulations; they are meant to protect us.
“It is important that we continue wearing our masks, sanitising and maintaining social distancing.
“The City of Tshwane will continue to monitor and track the spread of the Covid-19 and provide feedback to residents accordingly.”
Pretoria West resident Ofentse Mashele, who was tested yesterday at Sammy Marks Square, said he did not experience any symptoms.
He said he just wanted to know his status because he had heard some infected people did not show symptoms at all, but could pass the virus on to other people who might fall terminally ill.
He said: “I was told I would get my result by tomorrow, or the latest being Friday.
“I am looking forward to the results and in the meantime I will continue keeping myself and my family safe.
“I do not know why some people behave like this virus is not real, but I hope they change their mind.
“Just because you do not see the people dying in front of you does not mean it does not kill.”
Pretoria News