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Issue: Month End - March, 2020
IInkosazana Creations give back to women
New water debt limits suspended over COVID-19
City issues COVID-19 safety measures for public transport
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Taxi bosses taking COVID-19 seriously On Monday 23 March, the government announced 402 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in South Africa GAATJIE CHUMA MBANGEVA, who works for a taxi boss affiliated to the Dunoon Taxi Association, gives thumbs up after collecting a pair of gloves and mask to limit his exposure to the Coronavirus while ferrying passengers. Photo. Peter Luhanga
PETER LUHANGA ILISO LABANTU With a state of national disaster declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Coronavirus, awareness of the dangers it poses is spreading rapidly among communities. A few days after the President’s announcement on 15 March, a gaatjie [taxi assistant] was seen leaping out of an idling taxi parked outside the Dunoon Community Health Centre (CHC) and
running straight to the centre’s help desk to ask for a mask and gloves to protect himself from the Coronavirus, COVID-19. Chuma Mbangeva, who is 28-years-old, said he works for a taxi boss affiliated to the Dunoon Taxi Association. He was visibly concerned until a man at the CHC help desk reappeared with with blue gloves and a mask. “I am scared (of con-
tracting the Coronavirus). I am working with commuters and touch money every time. I can easily get Coronavirus,” said Mbangeva. Dunoon Taxi Association (DTA) general secretary Frank Qotyiwe said in the week after Ramaphosa’s address, the association started spraying taxi interiors with long lasting specialised disinfectants and providing drivers and gaatjies with hand sanitisers. “We are leading by
example, this is a crisis and we can’t ignore it. We are putting safety measures for us taxi bosses as well. We are wearing gloves, masks, and we have stopped hand greeting and hugging,” said Qotyiwe. He says the association has 87 members with a fleet of 215 minibus taxis, and is closely monitoring government announcements and adhering to restrictions. Concern over HIV and
TB patients COVID-19, which is caused by the Coronavirus, is reported to start in the throat, and then move to the lungs. It is particularly threatening to elderly people and those with compromised immune systems, such as people with HIV, and Tuberculosis. On Monday 23 March, the government announced 402 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in South Africa, an increase of 128 infections from the previ-
ous day. No deaths had been reported at the time. A senior medical practitioner at the Dunoon CHC, who requested anonymity as they are not authorised to talk to the media, said there is a concern about the number of people living with HIV/ Aids and Tuberculosis (TB), particularly as many people default on their treatment.
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