He said that following Covid-19 protocols, including strict quarantine of 10 days if in contact with someone who tested positive, is one of the best ways to stop the virus from spreading.
“Basic changes in behaviour can make a huge difference. We have spoken about this many times, but it does bear repeating, because oftentimes there are lapses in our behaviour. We must be more diligent, more consistent and more aware of our actions.
“If we are careful and diligent we can limit transmission and bring down the rate of infection. The fewer people who are infected at any one time, the fewer people get sick, fewer people need to be hospitalised, fewer people need ICU care, and fewer people need ventilators,” he said.
Ramaphosa said that judging from the previous experience of the last two waves of infections — when health facilities were overwhelmed as the numbers of serious cases rose dramatically — the priority was now to ensure that the country had enough hospital beds, enough healthcare workers, oxygen and ventilators.
“The huge surge in new infections means that we must again tighten restrictions on the movement of persons and gatherings. We need to enforce compliance more rigorously and we need to take firmer action against those who do not adhere to the regulations,” he said.
TimesLIVE