Municipality urges Middelburg community to lock down voluntarily during weekends

The Steve Tshwete Municipality has urged to residents in Middleburg to go under voluntary lockdown in the area during weekends.

The municipality requested the residents to do all necessary shopping before Friday at 8pm and then voluntarily staying indoors until Monday.

“It is true that not all of us can do this, but let us all try,” the municipality said in a Facebook post.

The municipality’s spokesperson Prudence Magutle said that the message was originally sent to the mayor from somewhere else and the municipality decided to become part of the initiative whereafter they shared it on social media platforms.

With the infection rate soaring countrywide, Mpumalanga currently has 2,902 Covid-19 cases with 22 reported as of Thursday, 9 July.

The Steve Tshwete Municipality has the fourth-highest Covid-19 infections in the province with 308 positive cases while eMalahleni has the highest number of positive cases in Mpumalanga with 772 positive cases.

Meanwhile, the Middelburg Police Station was closed for decontamination after a member tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, 8 July.

Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said that the community service centre would now operate from the police station finance office at Beyers Naude Street.

Hlathi said the telephone lines at the Middelburg police station would also not be accessible at this time. He further said the police station would reopen on Sunday 12 July.

The community is advised to use the following numbers for emergencies and complaints:

• 013 247 7000
• 013 249 1685
• 013 249 1688

The Middelburg police communication officer, Captain Khanyisile Zwane, can be contacted on 082 462 1896, while the acting visible policing head, lieutenant colonel Joseph Maphila can be reached on 082 462 2315.

This article first appeared on Middleburg Observer and was republished with permission.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.