South Africans must prepare for ‘different’ festive season, warns Mkhize
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has urged provinces to impose strict regulations on initiation schools in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Mkhize visited Sarah Baartman District in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday, amid concerns over the surge in Covid-19 infections in the area.
“Where there are initiations that are taking place, yes they could take place but under very strict protocols. At the same time, it is the customary rituals that happen afterwards which are very important.
“But the huge ceremonies have to be relooked because the size of those, it could be where the real super-spreader activities could come from,” said Mkhize.
Mkhize said South Africans need to prepare for a scaled-down festive season.
“We need to work together with the communities on containing the spread, particularly the issues of inspections by environmental health officers, inspections by the South African Police Service. All of that together has to be looked at as a package of how we will have our festive season under different situation.”
The National Command Council (NCCC) is set to discuss possible revised lockdown regulations for the upcoming festive season during its meeting on Thursday.
