Gauteng govt exploring ‘intermittent hard lockdown’ - Masuku
The provincial government in Gauteng has approached its national counterpart on the possible introduction of an “intermittent” hard lockdown amid the surge in Covid-19 cases.
The provincial cabinet met over the weekend to discuss measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Gauteng.
To date the province has 63 404 confirmed cases of the virus.
Health MEC Bandile Masuku said on Monday that while the provincial government has no plans to reintroduce level 5 of the lockdown, there are plans to bring back some of the lockdown measures from level 5 and 4.
"Some of the options discussed.. which we will help apply and see if the intermittent lockdown, how would it be, because it is one for us to have a balance between the two aspects we said we have to choose (health and the economy).
"The World Health Organisation considers intermittent lockdown as one option of opening up the economy and creating a balance in protecting healthcare systems.”
The province expects to hit the infection peak around the end of July to the beginning of August, a month earlier than anticipated.
Masuku was speaking during a ceremony to hand over some 40 000 pieces of personal protective equipment from the United Nations Development Programme in Johannesburg on Monday.
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