The Garden Route and Sarah Baartman districts are now considered COVID-19 hot-spots, Ramaphosa confirmed on Monday evening.
Addressing the nation on Monday 14 December, President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the Garden Route and Sarah Baartman Districts are now considered hot-spots having been badly affected by rising COVID-19 cases, and will be subjected to stricter regulations.
GARDEN ROUTE, SARAH BAARTMAN DISTRICTS DECLARED HOT-SPOTS
Nelson Mandela Bay was previously dumped into the hot-spot category after cases there began to skyrocket in November. The Western Cape’s Garden Route narrowly missed out on suffering the same fate. Now however, the Garden Route District, along with the Sarah Baartman District in the Eastern Cape will also be considered hot spots.
On Monday evening, Ramaphosa said that it is the opinion of himself and the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) that further measures must be introduced to ensure the spread of the virus is limited.
“There are other municipalities that have also shown a steep rise in infections,” he said.
As a result, the following areas have now been deemed hot-spots that are subject to even stricter rules than were announced for the rest of the country on Monday:
- Sarah Baartman District
- Garden Route District
- Nelson Mandela Bay
The same restrictions applied to NMB will apply to these districts with immediate effect from midnight tonight and will continue until we see progress. Beaches in these areas will also be closed.
COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE TO SURGE
As of Sunday 13 December, the country as a whole has recorded 866 127 COVID-19 cases, with the daily rise in infections over the last seven days 74% higher than previous seven. The daily deaths have increased by over 50%, Ramaphosa said.
“The four provinces leading the second wave are Eastern Cape Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and gauteng,” said Ramaphosa.
He said that if the infection rate is not managed urgently, then “we will greet the new year not with joy, but with sorrow”.
“Unless we do things differently, this will be the last Christmas for many South Africans,” he warned ominously.
