Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Nqaba Bhanga, has cautioned
residents to self-regulate following the release of new COVID-19 statistics
which indicate that more than 3000 people in the metro have died to date due to
the virus.
With a total of 1 634 active cases recorded in the metro as
at June 17, 2021, Bhanga said that the metro had also recorded 3 010 deaths
since the pandemic hit our shores last year.
“Now is the time to self-regulate. The time of playing hide
and seek with security agencies for the enforcement of COVID-19 regulations is
over. We are specifically calling on all our young people to immediately put a
stop to their social gatherings as the Department of Health reports that in our
city, the age group between 20-29 currently is the most infected. They are the
most mobile group too,” Bhanga said.
“We are now going into the weekend pleading with everyone;
young and old, to ensure that they adhere to the COVID-19 regulations to help
us save lives. We cannot afford to lose another 3010 people in our city. These
deaths are not just numbers, these deaths have affected many families and
friends. The third wave that is looming in our city should not have devastating
results more than the other waves, we must do everything in our power to act
smarter as we have been living with COVID-19 for more than a year now. As tired
as we are, we need to act responsibly because our enemy, COVID-19, is not tired,”
he added.
According to the latest available stats, a total of 216 new
cases were reported with the most cases recorded in Uitenhage (109)
Summerstrand with 99, Lorraine (87) Gelvandale (69) Despatch (61) and
Bethelsdorp with 46 cases.
“All government stakeholders are doing everything they
can to fight this pandemic. On Wednesday, we interacted with residents at Kenako
and Motherwell Shopping Centres where we were educating people and pleading
with them to work with us. Our Metro Police, working with the Eastern Cape
Liquor Board, SAPS and other stakeholders, will be out in full force this
weekend, conducting the tavern compliance operations and drinking and driving
operations around our Metro. We cannot do this alone. We are pleading with our
residents to act responsibly,” Bhanga pleaded.
