Some arrests made in Gauteng-Mpumalanga roadblock

Traffic Police Officers in Gauteng are out in full force, conducting roadblocks in various parts of the province – including some of the highways, to ensure road users are adhering to the new regulations under level four of the national lockdown.

The officers, together with Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko and health workers are ensuring that all commuters are screened and can either be allowed back into Gauteng or Mpumalanga.

“There are also nurses on site. They also check their temperature and if a person exceeds thirty-eight or thirty-nine degrees celsius, we take them into a private tent where they are further screened. Of course, because winter is also flu season, sometimes we note symptoms that are normal”, said Mazibuko.

“We are also checking to see if people aren’t carrying any illegal stuff on them and also checking if they are coming to work or coming back from where they were, back to Gauteng. But also to check if the driver is carrying a driver’s licence, that the car is roadworthy. These are some of the things we have been checking, Mazibuko said.

Roadblock yielding some positive results

Some road users were found to have violated some of the lockdown regulations, including a taxi driver who was stopped on the N14 highway and was charged for overloading the vehicle with over 70% capacity.

Another driver was found travelling on the N12, with an undocumented foreign national from Maputo.

Under the lockdown, mini-bus taxis and buses have a maximum capacity of 70%, all onboard should be wearing face masks and social distancing measures should be observed.

“No person is allowed to use of public transport who is not wearing a face mask.  We call on the pubic to ensure strict adherence to this requirement by obtaining their own face masks in line with the guidance given by Minister Dlamini-Zuma.  While government may provide limited assistance in ensuring availability of masks, the onus rests on each individual to ensure that they do not leave home without a mask”, said Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.

Public transport is also only permitted between 5am and 7pm.

Let’s honour our frontline workers

The Johannesburg MMC of Public Safety, Mally Mokoena has also said public sector workers who are working during the lockdown period should be remembered.

“We truly value their efforts. I spoke to some of our officers today to encourage them to keep working as diligently as possible”, Mokoena said.