Work under way to ‘cautiously’ lift the national state of disaster: Ayanda Dlodlo

Public works minister Ayanda Dlodlo says the government is working towards the implementation of measures that will ensure a safe withdrawal of the national state of disaster, two years after it was introduced. 

Dlodlo was speaking at a governance, state capacity and institutional development cluster media briefing on Monday.

The minister said the state of disaster was instrumental in mitigating the impact of the pandemic which has claimed the lives of over 98,000 people in SA since March 2020. 

“The declaration of the national state of disaster allowed the country to co-ordinate an integrated response plan to protect lives and mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the virus.

“Work is afoot to cautiously withdraw the national state of disaster in line with our risk-adjusted strategy. We cannot let our guard down yet, we need to improve our vaccination uptake to attain population immunity and continue to observe non-pharmaceutical health protocols,” said Dlodlo.

Co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma extended the state of disaster until March 15, exactly two years since it was implemented in 2020. 

Dlodlo said the availability of Covid-19 vaccination should not deter people from adhering to non-pharmaceutical safety measures such as mask-wearing, maintaining social distancing and hand washing.

“We need not be complacent as Covid-19 continues to ravage our communities and impact their lives to different degrees. The Covid-19 pandemic has also left behind devastation that continues to disrupt the lives of our people. 

“Through each wave, the pandemic also had a negative impact on our economy and people’s livelihoods. Even under these difficult conditions, our government was able to respond effectively to the pandemic through the Disaster Management Act and the implementation of the risk-adjusted strategy,” said the minister. 

Health minister Joe Phaahla recently hinted at the easing of restrictions that could see South Africans able to watch matches at stadiums.

He said the government was still in consultation with scientists to establish ways of easing the restrictions without leading to an uptick in infections.