NCOP urged to use Parliament’s recess to educate about COVID-19

Phaahla made the call as the NCOP held its last sitting at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Chamber on Thursday.

Deputy Health Minister, Joe Phaahla, has urged the National Council of Province (NCOP) members to use Parliament’s recess to educate their constituencies about COVID-19 and how to curb the spread of the virus.

Phaahla made the call as the NCOP held its last sitting at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Chamber on Thursday.

The members received a statement on COVID-19 from the Deputy Minister aimed at equipping them with appropriate and up-to-date knowledge of the pandemic, they will use to take back to communities.

On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the Coronavirus pandemic a national disaster.

The President announced a number of interventions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa, and this includes, amongst others, a ban on the gatherings of more than 100 people, the closure of 35 ports of entry and a travel ban on foreign nationals from countries hardest hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.

As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country was at 116, with Gauteng having the highest infections of 61, followed by Western Cape with 31 cases and KwaZulu-Natal with 19 cases.

Phaahla thanked all political parties, civil society and religious organisations for supporting the President’s interventions.

“We have a responsibility as individuals, but also as communities to ensure basic hygiene in our families and institutions we lead, and also make sure that we avoid the things that have been said, largely in terms of gatherings,” Phaahla said.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)