Home SA citizens ‘must call-out those who aren’t wearing masks’: Govt advisor

SA citizens ‘must call-out those who aren’t wearing masks’: Govt advisor

Leaving home without a mask? Well, you might have to prepare for an interrogation from your fellow citizens. President of the Medical Research Council, Professor Glenda Gray, has suggested that South Africans should be more forthright with each other – if they spot somebody breaking the coronavirus guidelines.

Government advisor leads ‘peer management’ calls

Fears of a second wave hitting Mzansi are growing. KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala believes that there will be some form of ‘hard lockdown’ during the festive season. Cases are increasing steadily in South Africa, and Professor Gray has also expressed her concerns. She’s noted that ‘pandemic fatigue’ is affecting many citizens at the moment.

As the country sits in its lowest form of lockdown – with almost every industry up and running again – complacency has also set in. This is a tough mindset to conquer, but the professor has a suggestion; and she calls it ‘peer management’.

People must ask others: “Where is your mask?”

Gray is imploring all South Africans to ‘call each other out’ if they see people failing to wear a mask or wash their hands. She’s also an advocate for more ‘visible policing’ – but does not want to see SAPS slip into any unsavoury habits:

“There’s a difference between visible policing and supporting the citizens in changing their behaviour, and being brutal. We must just be careful that we don’t cross that line. At Level 5 of lockdown, the police were better at enforcing mask-wearing, more was being done – so those kinds of things reinforce good behaviour…”

“We also have to ask our citizens to ‘peer manage’ each other – and ask others things like; where is your mask, why did you not wash your hands? Visible policing should end up encouraging this kind of reflex behaviour.”

Professor Glenda Gray


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