Limpopo gears up for busy festive season

Limpopo is a top holiday destination for sightseers, with the provinces’ attractions drawing in thousands at this time of the year. 

While the country gears up for higher volumes of traffic, Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba remains concerned about the risk of a spike in Covid-19 infections.

“The concern is that we are currently hit by the fourth wave of the Omicron variant and the timing is unfortunate. 

“We do expect quite a number of interprovincial movement which will have impact on our Covid-19 cases and as long as you see the Gauteng numbers going very high, you can never rule out what will happen in Limpopo,” says Ramathuba. 

Ramathuba adds provincial officials will be out in their numbers monitoring compliance to regulations.

But she urges residents and visitors to play their part. 

“We cannot continue to say government must push us into complying.

“Those who refuse to be vaccinated, then they are hit hard by the Covid wave they must know that when they are sick and require admission, they must know we are currently busy with other emergencies of your road accident, of your stab wounds, of your gunshots,” Ramathuba warns. 

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The country will remain under level 1 lockdown during the holiday season.

“There is no need for us to put any further restrictions. The restrictions and the lockdown on its own has become another pandemic for us a department because when you have a negative impact on the economy, people lose their jobs and when people lose their jobs, and people lose their jobs mental healthcare issues kick in. 

“The very same people develop other medical conditions due to stress - they get hypertension, they’re no longer working, they don’t have medical insurance and they still become the burden of the department,” Ramathuba explains. 

“That is why for us it is the last resolve to put in restrictions and go on a lockdown.”

Listen to Ramathuba below: