Cape Town, Johannesburg could face ‘tighter lockdown restrictions’

Health minister Zweli Mkhize released a statement on Sunday afternoon, assessing the current lockdown situation. However, for city dwellers in Cape Town and Johannesburg, his words were disconcerting.

Cape Town, Johannesburg and eThekwini could face “tighter lockdown restrictions”

Mkhize, who has been generally lauded for his handling of the global health crisis, said that both metropolises could be placed under tighter lockdown restrictions along with eThekwini during the flu season. Durban is also on this radar.

This is when the illness is expected to reach its peak – around September – and a second wave of infections will be weighing heavily on the mind of the government. Their solution? Well, the two economic hubs of South Africa could be placed under heavier lockdown regulations in comparison to the rest of the country.

How will it work?

The Western Cape, and Cape Town in particular, has become the epicentre for new transmissions of the disease. Johannesburg and eThekwini also vulnerable due to their population density. As Mkhize highlighted, the government will need the public’s support if they are to hold cities back individually:

“We are dealing with a dynamic situation and will monitor and evaluate the progress in various parts (of the country). It must be expected that there may be areas where it might not be the best way, just to let everything get back to normal: We might need to consider heightened interventions of lockdown in various forms.”

“On all these issues, we will need your support and cooperation. We still have a long way to go and still expect that a lot of pressure is still coming to our communities, especially with the flu season coming. Hotspots like Cape Town, Johannesburg and eThekwini may require tighter restrictions.”

Zweli Mkhize

Cape Town vs Johannesburg: Disease hotspots in South Africa

According to government plans shared a week before we entered an ‘eased’ phase of restrictions, it was proposed that lockdown stages could be changed at a provincial or district level. This would mean that some parts of South Africa could advance their lockdown status before others:

“The Cabinet member responsible for cooperative governance and traditional affairs shall, upon the recommendation of the Cabinet, declare which of the following alert levels apply – and the extent to which they apply at a national, provincial, or district level:”

National Disaster Act, 1 May 2020.

In times like these, it is often the biggest cities that harbour the most infections during lockdown. Cape Town, Johannesburg and eThekwini have all been flagged as ‘hot-spots’ for the disease. The Department of Health published a list last month, breaking down the most impacted cities and regions with their worst-hit “disease hotspots”:

Western Cape

• Cape Winelands
• Central Karoo
• City of Cape Town
• Garden Route
• Overberg
• West Coast

Gauteng

• City of Johannesburg
• City of Tshwane
• Ekurhuleni
• West Rand

KZN

• Amajuba
• eThekwini
• iLembe
• Harry Gwala
• King Cetshwayo
• Mgungundlovu
• Ugu
• Uthukela
• Zululand