Tshwane city’s head administrator, Mpho Nawa said the city had done “extremely well” in the fight against Covid-19.
He was speaking during a virtual briefing regarding the work by and in the large metro to combat the coronavirus during different levels in recent months.
Nawa said Covid-19 and lockdown had a massive impact on service delivery and small businesses in the city. Now under level 2, he said, the main message was about building the economy, and the City administrators were on board in that respect.
“In level 5 the major challenge that we thought we should respond to was homelessness,” he said. During that time the city erected tents at various sites to house the homeless.
The municipality also established ward-based structures and hosted health awareness campaigns at malls across the seven regions.
“The City has done extremely well in the fight against Covid. At the level of human solidarity, we were on course. At the level of social education, we were represented.”
Acting chief of Tshwane Emergency Services, Tanja Terblanche, reported that five employees from the city entity were among the 954 people who have, to date, succumbed to Covid-19 in Tshwane.
There were at least 143 people who had become infected by the virus every day in Tshwane, including an average of 13 deaths daily.
Terblanche said the City was spending at least R65 million to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for its more than 20 000 employees, who were working on a rotational basis.
Through the health awareness campaign, a total of 8 780 taxis and buses were disinfected. So far the City has screened 17 601 drivers and millions of passengers.
Terblanche said: “We want to reduce the spread of the virus as fast as possible and ensure there is business continuity.”
At least 1.1 million people have been reached through health awareness campaigns, using community radio stations, posters, and visits to malls.
The metro currently has 15 homeless shelters with 1 219 beneficiaries being accommodated in these facilities.
In terms of law enforcement and compliance, the metro police conducted routine inspections at liquor outlets and funerals to ensure compliance with the regulations.
Nine people were arrested last week for breaking regulations. In level 2, regulations include the 10pm curfew and no liquor sales for off-site consumption after 5pm Monday to Thursday, or on Friday to Sunday.
According to the latest statistics released by the provincial government, Tshwane has 46 711 confirmed Covid-19 infections, while Joburg accounted for 85 866 and Ekurhuleni 48 153.
There are currently 5 974 active cases in Tshwane, while 39 783 people confirmed with the virus have recovered.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Gauteng as of Wednesday stood at 21 741 with 3 860 deaths.
In region 3, which includes Atteridgeville, Laudium, Pretoria CBD, Hercules, Danville, Saulsville, Lotus Gardens, and Pretoria West, there have been 261 deaths. The region reported 14 444 confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak.
Region 1, which includes Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane, Winterveldt, Soshanguve, Rosslyn, Karenpark, Wonderboom, Akasia, Nina Park, Orchards, Amandasig, Theresa Park, and Pretoria North, has 192 deaths. The region reported 10 253 confirmed cases.
These are the two regions with the highest caseloads, according to the statistics.
