Mamelodi is among areas identified as one of Covid-19 hotspots in Gauteng as the province battles the third wave of the pandemic, yet some residents in the township east of Pretoria still ignore protocols put in place to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
While there are people who are concerned about their health and safety, there are those who still say the virus is “hearsay” and refuse to wear masks.
This was evident when Sowetan hit the streets of Mamelodi on Tuesday to speak to residents. People were seen gathered in large groups without observing social distancing or wearing masks, pointing to what President Cyril Ramaphosa has labelled as “having let our guard down”, which has led to new daily infections soaring.
Hilda Tshabangu, 38, called on premier David Makhura to tighten the regulations and move all areas identified as hotspots to level 5 because they do not adhere to Covid-19 regulations.
“Law-enforcement agencies need to intervene because there are many people who are not wearing masks in public and police just pass and don’t do nothing about it. Many people still hold events and there are more people than there should be in some venues.
“I’m pleading with law-enforcement agencies to tighten the law and arrest, jail or fine people who don’t adhere the lockdown rules,” said Tshabangu.
Simon Sekgobela, 45, said there were many places in the township where people did not adhere to the rules. He said these places included taverns, car washes and parks.
“Many people still share a beer and cigarettes and are not afraid of the virus. People go about in the streets as if there is no coronavirus. It breaks my heart to see that happening,” said Sekgobela.
Gracious Moopi, 50, said maybe if people got vaccinated, they would start adhering to the rules.
“The roll out of the vaccinate is so slow and people are impatient. The government must speed up the process and there won’t be hotspots. We will be mask free a country like other countries.
“I want the government to speed up the process of vaccinating people, so I can go and watch soccer. I miss being at a stadium and cheering for my favourite team,” said Amos Makaunyana, 36.
Dubai Taxi Rank spokesperson Thabo Matselela said they do not allow passengers into a taxi without a mask and at times they go to the extent of buying the mask for that person.
He said they also made sure that all taxis had a sanitiser.
“We sanitise our passengers at least three times on each trip.”
Mamelodi Regional Hospital CEO Dr Naing Soe said they now did not have an influx of Covid-19 cases.
“We do receive 1 to 10 patients, sometimes we don’t received any and sometimes we transfer patients to Tshwane District Hospital,” said Soe.
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