With COVID-19 infections soaring in South Africa, and after several meetings on Sunday to discuss how we react to the “second wave”, President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the country today about the government’s response to the latest developments.
After South Africa recorded 154 more COVID-19 related deaths and 7,882 new infections around the country on Saturday, several government bodies held key meetings on Sunday to discuss the government’s response to the “second wave” in South Africa, which is expected to dwarf the first coming of the virus.
“We are going to be very busy this festive season. A lot of people will be in a jolly mood and will likely want to party beyond midnight,” said Joburg metro police spokesperson chief supt Wayne Minnaar in a Sunday Times.
“The time has come for South Africans to make a choice — life, or sickness and death. If we choose life, then we must realise that we have to make sacrifices during this festive season,” Health Minster Zweli Mkhize said.
Ramaphosa’s address will be about the decisions made in yesterday’s crunch meetings between the government officials tasked with combating the pandemic.
“The address follows meetings on Sunday of the national coronavirus command council (NCCC), the president’s co-ordinating council (PCC), and a special sitting of cabinet,” the presidency said in a statement on Sunday, according to SowetanLIVE.
As South Africa enters the most economically productive point of the year, with the highest volume of tourists and holidaymakers on our shores, toeing a fine line between controlling the spread of infections and continuing to harness the might of South Africa’s tourism industry in a time of extreme economic hardship for the vast majority of the country and at all levels of wealth.
Ramaphosa’s address today has the potential to be the most noteworthy of all his national addresses and will go a long way towards whether the nation is able to undergo a speedy recovery in 2021.
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