Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says another hard lockdown ‘may become necessary’ in the face of rising infections.
‘If, in the future, there is a need for another lockdown, we will not hesitate. If the number of infections threaten the existing number of [hospital] beds that we have, obviously there will be a need for additional intervention and restrictions,’ he told Talk Radio 702.
The situation was ‘getting tough’.
‘I wish I could say otherwise. We have warned that the surge will come, [especially] in the winter months. I’m afraid the numbers are increasing and we need people to be aware and take all the necessary precautions to try and protect ourselves.’
Cumulative cases grew yesterday by 6 945 to 151 209 (with 73 543 recoveries), while 128 Covid-19 related deaths – of which 52 were in the Western Cape, followed by Gauteng (36), Eastern Cape (25), KwaZulu-Natal (11) and Mpumalanga (4) – brought the total to 2 657.
Mkhize acknowledged that while the government could not have extended the initial hard lockdown, ‘we may still do it in the future’.
The level 5 lockdown had, nevertheless, enabled the health authorities to prepare for the surge in infections.
Presently, the rate of infections, particularly in Gauteng, was increasing faster than had been anticipated.
While it was important for the economy to get up and running again, another hard lockdown would always be a possibility, should it be judged necessary.
On Sunday, Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku hinted at the possibility of ‘intermittent lockdowns’ in the province.
Mkhize also indicated that the government anticipated that the number of infections in Gauteng would soon overtake those in the Western Cape.
News24 reported that economic difficulties relating to the pandemic had led to African National Congress (ANC) staff being told their June salaries would be paid only next week.
ANC general manager Febe Potgieter wrote to staff to say they should ‘make the necessary arrangements with banks and other creditors ‘, as their June salaries would only be paid on 6 July.
Febe told staff: ‘Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience this caused, but do accept that this is not intentional, but as a result of the national crisis in the country.’
The party said in a statement after media enquiries that the matter was receiving the attention of treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.
In other virus-related news
- In the United States, health officials expressed growing concern about the nation’s ability and willingness to slow or end the pandemic. US disease expert Anthony Fauci, who complained that an ‘alarmingly large’ number of Americans were ‘anti-science’, told the US Senate that ‘clearly we are not in total control right now’, and that the country would ‘continue to be in a lot of trouble’ if people failed to practice social distancing and wear masks. Yesterday, cases rose by more than 40 000 in one day for the fourth time in the past five days, with at least 16 states pausing or reversing their reopening plans; and
- Reuters reported that a study had found that a new flu virus found in Chinese pigs had become more infectious to humans and needed to be watched closely in case it became a potential ‘pandemic virus’. There was no imminent threat, according to the paper published in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, but the researchers said influenza viruses found in pigs from 2011 to 2018 included a ‘G4’ strain of H1N1 that had ‘all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus’. The study also found that pig farm workers showed elevated levels of the virus in their blood, adding that ‘close monitoring in human populations, especially the workers in the swine industry, should be urgently implemented’.