Lana Marks, United States ambassador to South Africa, has praised the country’s lockdown measures as a response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
In remarks carried by City Press, the ambassador said: ‘It’s not easy and I understand that some citizens have questioned some of the measures or have even been unhappy with them. However, had such stringent measures not been put in place, the spread of the virus would have been far worse.’
As she has done in the past, Ambassador Marks praised President Cyril Ramaphosa for the ‘fantastic job’ he had done. South Africa’s largely unitary system has made it possible to act in a way that the US federal system did not.
She pointed out that the US had stood by South Africa in this crisis. She said that 1 000 US-made ventilators had been donated, with the first 50 having arrived in the past week. The US was also procuring goods for South Africa’s efforts locally.
She added that the US would continue to support the 17-year-old HIV funding programme.
In addition, an investment summit was scheduled for September, from which South Africa and its peer countries on the continent stood to benefit.
The ambassador’s comments come as concern mounts in the country about the socio-economic consequences of the lockdown, and whether the damage the lockdown is causing might outweigh the public health benefits.