Stay at home!

27 March 2020

At 23:59 last night, the country-wide lockdown called for by President Cyril Ramaphosa came into effect. It has been with great disappointment this morning, day one of the lockdown, that I have learned of a number of communities who are not adhering to the lockdown and who are going about their day as if it is business as usual.

To those who are staying indoors, I want to say thank you. You are playing your part to help us stop the spread of the COVID-19.

We received the sad news from National Government this morning that two patients who had contracted Coronavirus have died. My condolences go out to their families and friends.

I want to make this clear – anyone who thinks this is business as usual is putting everyone else’s life at risk. It may take days before you show symptoms, so while you think you don’t have the virus, or can’t get the virus, you are wrong. Not only could you have the virus without knowing it, but you could be spreading it to hundreds of others who could die as a result.

Please, stay indoors and only go out for the essentials. If you do not follow the rules, you will be arrested, and I am sure nobody wants to spend the lockdown in a cold jail cell instead of in their homes.

Work with us, we cannot do this on our own, we need everyone to play their part. If you follow the rules, we can flatten the curve, stop the spread of the virus and get back to business sooner rather than later.

Issued by Greg Wagner, Spokesperson to the Executive Mayor, 27 March 2020