Ramaphosa on booze, front line staff & schooling SA for breaking the rules

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday about the risk adjusted strategy meant to combat the spread of Covid-19.

He said the decision to tighten some regulations under alert level 3 of the lockdown prioritises the saving of lives.

Here are eight quotes from his address:

The Covid-19 storm

“The Covid-19 storm is far fiercer and more destructive than any we have known before. It is stretching our resources and resolve to their limits. The surge of infections that our experts and scientists predicted over three months has now arrived.”

Front line heroes 

“We owe the relatively low number of deaths in our country to the experience and dedication of our health professionals, and the urgent measures we have taken to build the capacity of our health system, which faced a number of its own inherent challenges before Covid-19.”

Bending regulations

“Even as most of our people have taken action to prevent the spread of the virus, there are others who have not. There are some among us who ignore the regulations that have been passed to combat the spread of the disease. They act without any responsibility to respect and protect each other.”

Deaths

“The truth is we are not helpless in the face of this storm. Scientists and other scenario planners have presented us with models that project that SA may have between 40,000 and 50,000 deaths before the end of this year. We must make it our single most important task to prove these projections wrong.”

Covid-19 could be airborne 

“There is now emerging evidence that the virus may also be carried in tiny particles in the air, in places that are overcrowded, closed or have poor air circulation. For this reason we must immediately improve the indoor environment of public places where risk of infection is greatest.

Nurses 

“We still have a serious shortage of more than 12,000 health workers, mostly nurses, doctors and physiotherapists.”

Testing

“In several provinces, those who take the Covid-19 test can now receive their result via their WhatsApp and provide details of their contacts via this platform. By responding to messages and providing information, you can help us stop the virus from spreading further.”

Effects of alcohol

“There is now clear evidence that the resumption of alcohol sales has resulted in substantial pressure being put on hospitals, including trauma and ICU units, due to motor vehicle accidents, violence and related trauma.”