Saccawu concerned about rise of Covid-19 cases in retail sector

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) was concerned about the rise of Covid-19 case infections in the retail sector.

This comes after a number of retail stores across the country were being closed after employees were reported testing positive for the virus.

Cosatu said Saccawu was enraged by the matter, despite the lockdown regulations enforcing the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Saccawu is enraged by the unabated rise in cases of Covid-19 infections in the retail sector despite rules compelling on provision of PPEs,” the trade union said on its Twitter account.

On Tuesday, Unilever South Africa confirmed that 30 of its employees and 12 contractors tested positive for Covid-19 at its factory in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.

In a statement on Wednesday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed the total number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa had reached 3,635, with an increase of 170.

The total number of tests conducted to date stands at 133,774, of which 6,868 were done in the past 24 hours.

Mkhize said there were seven more Covid-19 related deaths to report, bringing the number to 65.

He said five of seven deaths occurred in the Western Cape and two in KwaZulu-Natal.

“We express our condolences to the affected families and appreciate the health workers who treated these patients,” said Mkhize.

Gauteng currently has 1,224 Covid-19 cases, which is the highest compared to other provinces.

There are 1,079 cases in the Western Cape, 758 in KwaZulu-Natal, 377 in the Eastern Cape, 106 in the Free State, 27 in Limpopo, 24 in North West, 23 in Mpumalanga, 16 in the Northern Cape, and 1 unallocated case.