Don't undo what we've achieved: Ramaphosa's plea on Covid-19

The greatest vigilance is required from all of us to keep the coronavirus at bay, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday as he called on South Africans to be responsible in helping combat the spread of Covid-19.

With the festive season approaching, and after eight months of fighting the coronavirus, Ramaphosa said it is vital “we do not become the architects of our own undoing”'

“A resurgence at any scale will not just dramatically reverse our health gains, it will choke the green shoots of economic recovery that have emerged, and take us back from spring to winter,” the president said in his weekly newsletter.

To prevent a second wave of Covid-19 infections, Ramaphosa urged the country to observe the public health guidelines that remain in place.

“When we fail to wear a mask at a social gathering, when we attend crowded events, we are not only putting ourselves and others at risk. We are also putting our economic recovery in jeopardy. Let us all continue to play our part.

“The positive actions of wearing a mask, of maintaining social distancing and of regular hand washing helped us overcome the worst effects of the pandemic. They are still our best defence.

“Let us remember the sacrifices we all had to make to contain the spread of the virus in the early days. Even as most social and economic activity has resumed, we must still observe all the health measures. This is absolutely necessary if we are to rebuild our economy and put this crisis behind us.”

Health minister Zweli Mkhize on Sunday said the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases in SA was 737,278.

The data showed 20 more deaths related to Covid-19 in the Eastern Cape and one in Gauteng, bringing the total number of fatalities to 19,809. Of these, one was reported to have occurred in the past 24-48 hours in Gauteng.

Recoveries now stand at 679,688, which translates to a recovery rate of 92%.

This article originally appeared on TimesLive

Photo: GCIS