Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize is on the line for more on the figures, after spending the last few days in KwaZulu-Natal:Briefing the media in Pietermaritzburg on Friday on current measures to fight the pandemic, Mkhize said South Africa has shown some progress in slowing the rate of spread of the coronavirus, but the battle against the disease is far from over.
South Africa has shown flattening of the rate of infections since the imposition of the lockdown and Mkhize says the country could follow the trend of some Asian nations that have been able to bring the spread of COVID-19 under control.Mkhize encouraged South Africans to wear masks as this has been scientifically proven, it’s one of the preventative measures. He says people can also make their own cloth masks.
He emphasised that the issue of social distancing and regular hand washing should also go together with wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “The next issue is the use of masks in addition to handwashing, sanitation. This issue of wearing masks is important. It is not one versus the other, it is everything together. And in this case, we are recommending that people can use cloth masks.