DWS sends water trucks to Free State so people can wash hands

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has dispatched 31 water trucks to distribute 612 water tanks to the Free State in an effort to fight the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).

The department said after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a lockdown, they immediately started working on a plan to dispense water tanks and trucks to informal settlements and rural areas to strengthen Ramaphosa’s call of washing hands.

The water trucks and tanks have been dispersed to Vrede, Fauresburg, Harrismith, Senekal, Clocolan, Petrus Steyn, Cornelia, Villiers, Kroonstad, Viljoenskroon, Welkom, Bloemfontein, Thabanchu and Sasolburg.

The department said they had established an operation centre where daily meetings take place with municipalities and water boards utilizing internet-based conferencing facilities.

“Progress reports on water services were then reported on a national platform that includes ministers and MEC’s.

“Even as this effort rolls out, the department sadly learned of the assault of water tank drivers in Welkom as they were dispensing water to communities,” the department said in a statement.

The department condemned the actions in the strongest sense and further said the actions was a crime and were not helpful to needy communities.

“Prohibiting the supply of water to communities that were in desperate need of this resource constitutes a crime,” the department said.

The department implored the public to constantly wash hands with soap and water, use sanitizer where water and soap were not available, avoid touching surfaces that were commonly used, and continue to use water sparingly as this was still a scarce resource.

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