Gauteng premier David Makhura has said that shutting down the economy is not an option, as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in his province.
Makhura said this on Thursday, as he ruled out the possibility of moving the province into lockdown level 5.
He was speaking during his budget vote speech in the Gauteng legislature.
“The common question is restrictions… We cannot shut down the economy. We can’t ask the national command council to shut down the economy completely, because one of the things about Gauteng is that it is an economic entity…. People are here for economic purposes…. These things are in our hands. Slowing down the pandemic is in our hands,” said Makhura.
Gauteng is South Africa’s epicentre of Covid-19, with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) revealing on Thursday that the province had 9 521 daily cases, 59% of all new cases for that period.
#COVID19 | We are appealing to the people of Gauteng to limit mobility. We want law enforcement officers to be everywhere to ensure that regulations are adhered to. We have to clamp down on the disregard of regulations in Gauteng – Premier @David_Makhura. pic.twitter.com/L3rwbTFAyo
— GautengGov (@GautengProvince) June 24, 2021
‘March to save lives’
According to Times Live, Makhura warned that the third wave of infections was severe, adding that residents needed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by wearing masks and avoiding mass gatherings that defy the restrictions.
“People decide to defy the numbers of gatherings, but when infections hit the roof who is to blame? It’s the government. Some of them even say that we are going to march without complying. It’s like Covid-19 is not there.”
His remarks came a day before The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party supporters protested, demanding a speedy provision of vaccines to all citizens.
The EFF marched in Pretoria on Friday, under the banner of “March to Save Lives”, as they demanded that the South African Health Production Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) speeds up the approval of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and the Chinese Sinovac manufactured Coronavac vaccine.
ALSO READ | WATCH: EFF protests for vaccines, flouting Covid-19 laws
The EFF leader Julius Malema indicated this week that his party will give the health regulator seven days to give Sinovac and Sputnik V the green light for emergency use in the country.
He said if Sahpra failed to do so, the party would stage a sit-in outside the house of Sahpra’s CEO.
Meanwhile, the head of government communications, Pumla Williams, has urged South Africans to ignore messages about a looming change in coronavirus lockdown rules.
Please ignore any message doing the rounds on any level changes. NCCC is only scheduled to meet next week 29th
— phumla williams (@mirriamp) June 25, 2021
She tweeted on Friday, urging people to “ignore any message doing the rounds on any level changes”.
Some citizens had received voice notes and texts claiming that an announcement of a stricter lockdown by President Cyril Ramaphosa was imminent.
PICTURE: Twitter/@GautengProvince
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
