President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: GCIS
Government Communications (GCIS) head Phumla Williams has urged South Africans to ignore any messages doing the rounds on social media claiming a change in lockdown levels.
As the country battles the third wave of coronavirus, South Africans are conflicted about whether the country should tighten its lockdown rules.
On Tuesday, EFF leader Julius Malema said President Cyril Ramaphosa was planning to take the country to a level 5 lockdown.
Since then, the country has been anticipating another “family meeting” in which Ramaphosa will make an announcement on further lockdown restrictions.
Update: Ramaphosa will address South Africans on Sunday evening.
On Friday a message circulated on social media claiming the country was moving to level 4.
The hashtag #level4 has been trending since as people prepare themselves for tighter lockdown rules.
ALSO READ: Malema says Ramaphosa is planning for hard level 5 lockdown
Williams said should any tighter rules be implemented, it will definitely not be this weekend as the national coronavirus command council will only meet on Tuesday to discuss the government’s response to the third wave.
Ramaphosa may not address the nation tonight, but if he does, DA leader John Steenhuisen has a list of concerns Ramaphosa should address.
“The government ignored DA and scientist warnings back in February that a third wave would arrive with winter. They ignored our pleas to pull out all the stops for a speedy, efficient vaccine rollout,” Steenhuisen said in a statement on Friday.
“They failed to use the time to prepare the health system or build track and trace capacity. Having been asleep at the wheel for months, the national Coronavirus Command Council is now looking to use the only tool it seems able to wield – lockdowns.”
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa’s ‘lockdown nonsense regulations won’t stop us’ – Malema
Instead of wielding the lockdown tool, Steenhuisen has suggested the President announces the following:
Steenhuisen said the President should also apologise for dropping the ball on vaccines and to allow provinces to make their own decisions.
“We have devolved decision making responsibility to competent provincial health departments because we are committed to taking a differentiated approach, since provincial circumstances differ markedly, so blanket restrictions are irrational and counter-productive.
“For example, the Northern Cape has already passed the peak of its third wave, so we cannot expect them to make sacrifices because the virus is raging in Gauteng. Also, the Western Cape has built sufficient healthcare capacity, so we cannot treat this province the same as Gauteng, which has failed its residents,” Steenhuisen said.
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