By Tshepo Matseba
As the world grapples with the spiking number of confirmed COVID-19 cases; currently at more than 860 000, President Cyril Ramaphosa has thanked essential services teams from different sectors for playing their part as the country accelerates its efforts to curb the spread of Coronavirus. This is against the backdrop of confirmed cases in South Africa being at 1353 as of 31 March 2020.
“We would like to thank our nurses, doctors and other health workers, social workers and frontline government staff, volunteers and NGOs who are leading the fight against the disease. We thank the 18,000 security personnel, drawn from the police, defence force, metro police and other entities, that are responsible for ensuring our safety,” said Ramaphosa adding that “we have made it clear that the task of our security personnel is to support, reassure and comfort our people, and to ensure peace and order is maintained,” he said.
“They [law enforcement officials] know that they must act within the law at all times and that they must not cause harm to any of our people. And then there is each of you, the 58 million South African citizens and residents who are standing together as one in confronting this national health emergency. Among us are the men and women who rise at dawn every day, and labour through the night to keep this country going,” he said.
Acting Chief Executive of Brand South Africa, Thulisile Manzini accentuates the President’s call and urged South African citizens throughout the world to play their part in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. “For more than a decade, we have embarked on a campaign that we named Play Your Part, which is a nation-wide programme created to inspire, empower and celebrate active citizenship in South Africa. It aims to lift the spirit of our nation by inspiring all South Africans to contribute to positive change, become involved and start doing. A nation of people who care deeply for one another and the environment in which they live is good for everyone” said Manzini.
“We firmly believe that every citizen can play their part by taking preventive measures such as social distancing. Our President has stressed that those countries that have acted swiftly and dramatically have been far more effective in controlling the spread of the disease,” Manzini said in quoting the President. “As Brand South Africa, we encourage every citizen to support this decision and play their part.”
Manzini further urged every citizen to do everything within their means to avoid contact with other people. “Staying at home, avoiding public places and cancelling all social activities is the preferred best mechanism to defend oneself against the virus,” she said.
