South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday urged the people to take extra precautions as the country prepares for the coming Easter weekend and other religious holidays, warning that mass religious gathering could lead to an influx in the number of Covid-19 cases, reported News 24.
In his weekly open letter addressed to the public on Monday, Ramaphosa said the government has been engaging with the leaders of the faith community who are aware of the danger of a potential third wave of coronavirus infections.
“I recently had an extremely constructive virtual meeting with leaders of the faith community. These leaders understand and appreciate the very real danger of a new wave of Covid-19 infections,” the letter read.
The South African president said precaution is what is needed now especially as the coronavirus pandemic has not been eliminated in the country and across the world. He warned that the threat of a third wave is real and ever-present.
“International experience has taught us that we should not tempt fate. Many countries have eased restrictions, only for there to be resurgences, necessitating the imposition of even harsher restrictions,” Ramaphosa noted in the letter.
The president called on faith communities to innovate in the holding of congregational worship over the upcoming Easter, Passover, and Ramadan as they did last year. He warned that mass gatherings, whether religious or otherwise, have the potential to spread the virus, despite the application of measures around social distancing and sanitizing.
He said the government was deliberating on the requests made by religious bodies to ease existing lockdown restrictions on the number of people allowed in gatherings, and an announcement on it should be expected in the coming days.
According to a statement by South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, the country reported 548 new COVId-19 cases on Monday, taking the total number of cases to 1,545,979.
