South Africa: President acted to prevent thousands of deaths

Local media in South Africa is reporting that President Cyril Ramaphosa took drastic measures to tackle coronavirus after expert models showed that between 87,9000 and 351,000 people could die if the government failed to act decisively.  

Department of Health projections showed that with an infection rate of 40%, as many as 351,000 people could die.

On Wednesday, the government announced it would deploy law-enforcement officers across the country to make sure the public abides by the strict new measures introduced to reduce the spread of the virus. 

The measures include the closure of all bars, restaurants and clubs with immediate effect - unless they ensure their premises meet hygiene standards and customers are limited to no more than 50 at a time. 

Anyone who violates the new orders will be prosecuted and either fined or jailed up to six months. It is also believed that anyone who intentionally exposes others to the coronavirus could be arrested and prosecute for assault, attempted murder or murder. 

South Africa has so far detected 116 cases of the virus, just two weeks after the first patient showing symptoms returned from a skiing trip to Italy. 

Photo: Reuters