'Now, more than ever, we are responsible for the lives of those around us.' Read President Cyril Ramaphosa's full speech.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will addressed the nation on Sunday 12 July 2020, on developments in South Africa’s risk-adjusted strategy to manage the spread of Covid-19. Read his full speech.This evening, as I stand here before you, our nation is confronted by the gravest crisis in the history of our democracy. For more than 120 days, we have succeeded in delaying the spread of a virus that is causing devastation across the globe.
As a country, we are not alone in our fight against coronavirus. Most other countries around the world are engaged in the same struggle as we are. More than half a million people have died from Covid-19 across the world, and the total number of confirmed cases across the world has grown rapidly to more than 12.7 million.
We must remember that the most important measure of success is the number of lives we save. More than 134,000 South Africans have recovered from the coronavirus. Many of those who have recovered took personal responsibility for their health and the health of others, by self-isolating or presenting to quarantine themselves facilities.
This may be a disease that is caused by a virus, but it is spread by human conduct and behaviour. We are in the midst of a deadly pandemic and we must act accordingly, in line with the prevention measures we continue to communicate. We are all required to be responsible, careful and compassionate. We have the power within ourselves, working with each other, to limit the damage that this virus does to our people, our society and our economy.
We have procured and delivered millions of items of personal protective equipment to hospitals, clinics and schools across the country to protect our frontline workers. We have recruited and continue to recruit additional nurses, doctors and emergency health personnel. We still have a serious shortage of more than 12,000 health workers, mostly nurses, doctors and physiotherapists. Thanks to the contributions by business and individuals, the Solidarity Fund has invested R1.
To deal with shortages of health personnel in some areas, we are employing more doctors and nurses and negotiating with health science faculties to deploy volunteers to provide medical, nursing, physiotherapy, pharmacy and general patient support. I have been extremely proud to see medical students volunteering at hospitals and clinics, exemplifying the highest values of the medical profession. I commend them for their unwavering patriotism and commitment to public service.
A vital part of our strategy to contain the spread of the virus is to identify those people who are infected, to identify those people they have been in close contact with, and ensure that they immediately isolate themselves from others. We know there are some people who are reluctant to isolate themselves – either at home or in government facilities – but it is essential that we do so if we are to break the chain of transmission.
As we now approach the peak of infections, we need to take extra precautions and tighten existing measures to slow down the rate of transmission. On the recommendation of the National Coronavirus Command Council, Cabinet has therefore decided that the country will remain at alert level 3 at this time, but that we should however strengthen the enforcement of existing regulations and take certain additional measures.
Most of these and other trauma injuries occur at night. Therefore, as an additional measures to reduce the pressure on hospitals, a curfew will be put in place between the hours of 9pm and 4am. Apart from people who need to travel to and from work or who need to seek urgent medical or other assistance during this time, everyone will be required to remain at home. The curfew will take effect from tomorrow, Monday, 13 July 2020 at 9pm.
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