Covid-19: An additional 142 water tanks delivered to areas across Gauteng
These tanks will assist communities in water-stressed and densely populated areas to wash their hands to ward off the virus.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has delivered an additional 142 water tanks to areas in need across Gauteng.
The tanks were delivered to push back against the rising tide of the coronavirus pandemic.
Over 1 900 water tanks have been delivered so far to areas including City of Joburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Sedibeng and the West Rand.
Gauteng was the epicentre of the virus before the Western Cape saw a spike in the number of infections recently.
Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement for government to devise extraordinary measures to slow the spread of the virus, the department has deployed officials who are at the forefront of delivering water tanks across the country to cushion the impact of the virus on the most vulnerable.
These tanks will assist communities in water-stressed and densely populated areas to wash their hands to ward off the virus.
Head of the department in Gauteng Sibusiso Mthembu said a failure to provide these communities with running water would put them at the brink of a crisis of contracting the virus.
He said the province’s move away from the virus epicentre was an optimistic sign that the call to stay home and wash hands has yielded results.
Mthembu added that the department was aiming to protect the health of communities that were susceptible to the virus due to overcrowded living conditions.
Mthembu said, “There is still a long way to go to deal with the virus. So the delivery of water to communities remains our absolute priority. The fact that Gauteng is no longer the hardest-hit province should not lull us into believing that we are out of the woods. In fact, we still face very difficult days ahead and thus we must double our efforts.”
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