More restrictions needed in schools, public transport, warns SAMA
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has warned that Covid-19 is spreading rapidly through public transport, social gatherings, funerals and schools.
This comes after the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said South Africa has technically entered its third wave of coronavirus infections.
The country recorded 9 149 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.
Gauteng is the worst affected with 5 597 new cases.
SAMA chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee says government needs to tighten up the restrictions.
“As SAMA we have already warned that we are in the midst of the third wave and after the last meeting with the president we said we need stricter restrictions over the weekends and on places of most gathering, funerals, churches and even public transport.
“For now we are starting to include the schools, because we have also seen that a lot of schools closed for almost two weeks because of teachers having tested positive for Covid-19 and children infected.”
Coetzee predicts a further increase in the number of infections.
“In this wave it is extremely difficult for primary healthcare workers to distinguish from a cold and a mild Covid-19, so we predict that we are going to see quite a raise in numbers going forward because people are going to think they got a cold and unadvisedly spreading the virus to workers, communities and households.
“We need to look at gatherings, transport and schools, but you can do all of this but if the behaviour of people doesn’t change as well, nothing else is going to help us going forward.”
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has on Thursday called on Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to close schools within seven days.
The Educators’ Union of South Africa (EUSA) says it supports the EFF’s call.
EUSA spokesperson Kabelo Mahlobongwane says it is easy for minister to make decisions while sitting at home.
“The ministet makes this decision while she is sitting comfortably behind her laptop at home, because they themselves are afraid of contracting the virus. This is very disappointing for parents who have their children in either private schools or well-resourced government schools decide that is if fine for the children of the poor to contract the virus at schools and then take it back home to infect the defenceless,” says Mahlobongwane.
“EUSA urges government to fasten the process of vaccinating all teachers and education workers in the country using vaccines that have been tried and tested from countries such as China and Russia – countries that have successfully dealt with the virus.”
