141 more water tanks for Gauteng to help curb spread of Covid-19

Another 141 water tanks have been rolled out by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) across needy areas of Gauteng to push back against the rising tide of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

So far, 1 926 water tanks have been distributed in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni and the Sedibeng and West Rand district municipalities. Until recently, Gauteng was the epicentre of the virus before the Western Cape saw a spike in its number of cases.

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement to government to devise and implement extraordinary measures to slow the spread of the virus, the department has deployed officials who are in the forefront of delivering water tanks to different areas in the country in a bid to cushion the impact of the virus on the most vulnerable. The water tanks will assist communities in water-stressed and densely populated informal settlements to wash their hands to ward off the virus.

ALSO READ: Washing hands with soap and water as opposed to cleaning them with hand sanitiser

Head of DWS in Gauteng, Sibusiso Mthembu, said a failure to provide water to needy communities would put them at the brink of a crisis of contracting the deadly virus and that it was therefore important for them to have access water to be able to wash their hands regularly.

Mthembu said it was an optimistic sign that the call for people to stay at home and washing hands was having a positive impact as the province has moved away from being the epicentre of the virus.

He said the department was especially aiming to protect the health of communities that were susceptible to the virus because it was most likely to spread in crowded environments. Mthembu added that more work still needs to be done to curb the spread of the virus.

“There is still a long way to go. The delivery of water to communities remains our absolute priority. The fact that Gauteng is no longer the hardest-hit province should not lull us into believing that we are out of the woods. In fact, we still face some very difficult days ahead and thus we must double our efforts.”

* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.

Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram