Ekurhuleni cancels state of the city public viewing, restricts guests
The City of Ekurhuleni has decided to restrict the attendance of guests and cancel all public viewing areas for its state of the city address.
Mayor Mzandile Masina says this will be done as a precautionary measure.
This year’s address will instead be digitally streamed.
The Department of Health said on Sunday that there has been 13 more positive tests for the deadly virus, bringing the total to 51.
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The 13 new cases follow the 14 cases announced on Saturday. Seven of the new coronavirus cases are in Gauteng, while the Western Cape recorded five and KwaZulu-Natal one. To date, South Africa has the highest number of coronavirus infections in sub-Saharan Africa.
In a statement released today, Masina said the decision was made due to increased and overwhelming concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After careful consultation with our community services officials regarding the health and safety of everyone set to attend the SOCA, the office of the executive has made the difficult decision to cancel all SOCA public viewing areas and restrict the attendance of guests at the event.”
Masina added that he would outline the city's readiness to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak during the address.
“This is not a signal for the public to panic, but the start of new habits we must adopt to protect our people."
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