Commuters, car guards and taxi drivers in Joburg heed call to wear masks

Johannesburg commuters on Monday appeared to be heeding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instruction to wear masks.

Shortly after Ramaphosa’s address on the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday night, new regulations including rules on the wearing of masks were gazetted.

According to the new regulations, public transport drivers and operators who allow commuters into their vehicles without a face mask can be prosecuted and jailed for up to six months, be fined, or both.

“A driver, owner or operator of public transport may not allow any member of the public not wearing a cloth face mask, homemade item, or another appropriate item that covers the nose and mouth, to board or be conveyed in public transport owned or operated by him or her,” the regulations say.

TimesLIVE took a drive around the Randburg CBD and taxi rank to see if people were wearing masks.

At the rank, commuters, taxi drivers and marshals were wearing masks. People seen walking on the streets were also wearing masks. Very few people did not cover their noses.

Even those who gathered in small groups on street corners and around shops were masked. Car guards also appeared to be observing Covid-19 safety protocols.