Municipality geared up and ready

Municipalities are gearing up and getting ready should the Covid-19 virus put its ugly tentacles in its midst.

Emalahleni Local Municipality is also pulling out the stops to make sure that bylaws are adhered to and a plan of action is ready should the pandemic hit.

A command council, consisting of different spheres of the city has regular meetings and updates are received hourly.

Emergency plans are already on the table ready to be implemented.

The first steps the command council took were to disinfect the municipal buildings and refuse trucks.

The taxi ranks, correctional services, police stations, and relevant clinics are next in line.

“The municipality is taking the lead in fighting this virus. We are trying to keep service delivery running and keep our municipality safe,” said municipal spokesperson Mr Lebo Mofokeng.

The command council so far has ensured education and awareness to communities and employees on Covid-19 risks, mitigation measures and measures placed by the municipality.

Non-essential municipal services were also ramped down.

Notices were issued on which essential services will be operational and notices regarding prohibitions as per regulations (transportation of people and goods, social distancing, operating hours for small shops (spaza shops) and prohibitions on selling non-essential goods were communicated.

Over 200 spaza shops, supermarkets, tuckshops and other essential services were given permission to operate.

Funeral homes and undertakers were instructed on how to manage funerals during this lockdown period.

After the devastating hailstorm that caused a lot of damage temporary permits were given to hardware stores to help residents fix what was damaged during the storm.

Two quarantine sites, one at Impungwe Hospital and one at Greenside Community Health Centre and one isolation site in Witbank hospital was identified.

“Several shelters were identified for the homeless,” Mofokeng said.