‘Covid-19 now roosts in townships’
ALEX – Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nocawe Mafu has implored township folk to don their masks in public.
Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nocawe Mafu has issued a passionate plea to young people, especially those living in the townships, to always wear their masks whenever they venture into the public.
She was speaking at Q-Studios on the eve of former President Nelson Mandela’s 102nd-year birthday, which was an event created to mark and honour various artists from Alexandra. The occasion also witnessed the distribution of some Covid-19 food relief to most of the artists who have not earned an income since the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on 26 March.
“I want to plead with our people in the townships, to wear those masks. I know people in the townships do not wear their masks as they think this is a disease for rich people and the wealthy that can travel. I want to tell you now, there are more people dying of the disease in the townships than any other place in Gauteng.
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“Our townships have become epicentres of Covid-19, from Alexandra to Soweto, to Soshanguve and many other places. All this is simply because our people do not want to wear their masks. Please marry those masks from today onwards as they can save your lives,” said Mafu at the Gift of the Givers food relief distribution initiative in honour of Mandela Day.
“When the virus was wreaking havoc in countries such as Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom,” Mafu said.
“We dismissed the pandemic and said not in South Africa. But the chickens have come home to roost. There is no cure for this and the only salvation are your masks.”
Mafu said the other major contributor to high Covid-19 cases in townships was what she described as the ‘abuse of alcohol’ in those communities. By the nature of its design, Mafu said beer was not a drink that you take alone in an obscure corner. “It’s a drink that you take and you want lots and lots of friends near yourself.
“One or two glasses down and the masks disappear and social distancing no longer exists and fights break out and people shoot and stab each other. Some people then drive home in that drunken stupor, run over pedestrians or cause serious traffic accidents.
“It’s for this reason why we decided to suspend the sale of alcohol so we can free hospital beds for Covid-19 cases. If we had given you a warning of impending suspension of alcohol sales, as demanded by many of you, the queues at the liquor outlets would have resembled a segment of the Wild West movies.”
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