Over 15 City of Tshwane buildings temporarily closed due to Covid-19

With more than 15 buildings in the City of Tshwane being closed due to Covid-19, its administrator, Mpho Nawa, has urged residents to be cautious and use preventative measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 as infections in the country are expected to peak.

In a statement on Thursday, Nawa said the call to be extra cautious came on the back of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases among residents and staff in Tshwane, which is expected to peak alongside the rest of the country.

“Medical experts have predicted that the country will experience a surge in Covid-19 infections as witnessed in other countries in the northern hemisphere at the height of the winter period.

“More than 15 of the City’s buildings have had to temporarily close due to staffers having tested positive for the virus. Most of those buildings have since reopened and the infected staff has remarkably recovered,” he added.

It was previously reported the City’s head office, Tshwane House, Mini Munitoria in Mamelodi West and the Silverton fire station were temporarily closed after staff members tested positive for the virus.

The Ribeiro Clinic at the Sammy Marks Square shopping complex in the Tshwane city centre was also temporarily closed at the beginning of June.

According to the Gauteng department of health as of 24 June, there were 26 156 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 147 deaths in the province

Pretoria recorded 4 056 of these cases, with 17 residents having died.

In a breakdown of sub-districts, 1 341 cases were recorded in District 3, which comprises Atteridgeville, Laudium, the Tshwane CBD, Hercules, Danville, Saulsville, Lotus and Pretoria West.

To date, 889 cases were recorded in District 4, which comprises Lyttleton, Eldoraigne, Waterkloof, Olievenhoutbosch, Rooihuiskraal, Silverton, Centurion, Brooklyn and Hatfield.

Nawa said he was satisfied how the majority of the City’s residents have thus far heeded the call to comply with the Covid-19 lockdown regulations in a concerted bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

“The people of Tshwane have been amazing since the start of the lockdown period and have co-operated with us in our collective effort to flatten the curve. There were, however, some pockets of unpleasant behaviour, but those were isolated incidents.

“We wish to implore everyone staying, working and doing business in the city to continue to wear a face mask at all times, keep to the required physical distancing, wash hands with a sanitiser with an alcohol content of 60% and above, and wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

“We have provided water to all parts of the city to ensure that all the residents are able to fight the virus by observing proper hygiene measures to prevent the spread of the virus.”

He added the City had embarked on an intensive and aggressive Covid-19 outreach campaign targeting areas considered to be hotspots, and conducted mass screening and testing of residents.

“After the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] identified Tshwane as one of the hotspot areas, we immediately shone a spotlight on the areas that needed urgent and targeted intervention, and we are proud to say that we’ve successfully managed to slow down the spread of the virus.”

Speaking about the fatalities, Nawa said the number of deaths had been relatively low compared to other big metros due to the measures put in place.

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