By Kaveesha Fernando
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CWBN)_ Following a media briefing late last week during which South African Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that South Africa is suffering from the new COVID-19 strain identified globally just last week, the minister urged the public to use a new app designed to help fight the pandemic. Today (December 21), the minister gave assurances that the app protects the privacy of users.
“Use the COVID Alert SA app to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community. Start using this privacy preserving app today. Add your phone to the fight! Download the Covid Alert SA app now! http://onelink.to/x77vn7,” he tweeted today.
The minister has criticized South Africa’s youth for failing to adhere to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. Following last week’s briefing, he tweeted that the youth of the country were being careless. “Our youth are not wearing masks and are clearly so intoxicated that they have thrown caution to the wind and do not care to observe the rules under the state of disaster. #SARSCOV2MediaBriefing,” he tweeted. He reminded the country’s youth last evening that they are also at risk. “We call on parents, caregivers and our youth to understand that this is now not just a matter of thinking about others, but you yourselves are now equally at risk of dying from #COVID19,” he tweeted last evening.
The government of South Africa has been working hard to prevent an outbreak of the pandemic during this festive season. Operation Okae Molao, an integrated operation in which police target areas where they believe crime is problematic with the help of other law-enforcement agencies, has also placed a heavy focus on preventing the pandemic. Police officers and even police chiefs have patrolled streets, pulling up people who don’t comply with the government’s health and safety guidelines.
