President #Ramaphosa: Our greatest challenge now – and our most important task – is to ensure that we do not experience a new surge in infections.
Several countries around the world have been hit by a ‘second wave’ or a resurgence of infections.
President #Ramaphosa: A number of these countries had passed the peak of the disease and had seemingly brought the virus under control.
Some of them had even lifted most of the restrictions on economic and social activity.
President #Ramaphosa: In many cases, the second wave has been more severe than the first. Several countries have had to re-impose a hard lockdown. Our public health response is now focused on further reducing the transmission of the virus and preparing for a possible resurgence.
President #Ramaphosa: We have now taken a decision to keep increasing coronavirus testing.
Due to the decline in new infections and the reduced pressure on our health facilities, we now have sufficient testing capacity to expand the criteria for testing.
President #Ramaphosa: Among the categories of people we will now be able to test are all those who are admitted to hospital, outpatients with COVID symptoms, and individuals who have been in close contact with confirmed cases whether or not they themselves have symptoms.
President #Ramaphosa: Alongside increased testing, we are improving contact tracing through the deployment of the COVID Alert South Africa mobile phone app and the COVID Connect WhatsApp platform.
President #Ramaphosa: Effective testing and contact tracing systems will allow us to quickly identify and contain outbreaks before they spread further.
President #Ramaphosa: I want to make a call this evening to everyone who has a smartphone in South Africa to download the #COVIDAlertSA app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app has been zero-rated by mobile networks, so you can download it without data costs.
President #Ramaphosa: Using Bluetooth technology, the app will alert any user if they have been in close contact with any other user who has tested positive for coronavirus in the past 14 days.
President #Ramaphosa: The app is completely anonymous, it does not gather any personal information, nor does it track anybody's location.
President #Ramaphosa: The Department of Health has also developed WhatsApp and SMS systems for people without smartphones to provide them with test results and alert them to any possible exposure to the virus.
President #Ramaphosa: Contact tracing is an important preventative measure to protect yourself and your close family and friends.
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PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA REJECTS ZUMA’S ABUSE OF PRIVATE PROSECUTION PROCESSES
President Cyril Ramaphosa rejects with the utmost contempt Mr. Jacob Zuma’s abuse of legal processes and perversion of the ‘nolle prosequi’ (private prosecution) provision.
In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act, a private prosecution can only be instituted after the individual prosecuting has obtained a certificate of non-prosecution.
The certificate serves as a legal confirmation that the National Prosecuting Authority (“NPA”) will not proceed with the prosecution following its consideration of the charges.
CABINET APPROVES CHANGES TO ADJUSTED ALERT LEVEL 1 COVID-19 REGULATIONS
A special Cabinet meeting held today, 31 January 2022, has approved changes to the Adjusted Alert Level 1 COVID-19 regulations.
This follows meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) which received updates on the management of COVID-19 in South Africa.
The information gathered through the system used by the Department of Health has reported that South Africa has exited the fourth wave nationally.
A special Cabinet meeting held earlier today, 30 December 2021, has approved several changes to the Adjusted Alert Level 1 COVID-19 regulations.
This follows meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC), which received updates on the management of the current 4th wave of COVID-19 in South Africa, which is mainly driven by the Omicron variant.
COVID-19 Update:
The information gathered through the system used by the Department of Health has reported a 29.7% decrease in the number of new cases detected in the week ending 25 Dec 2021 (89,781), compared to the number of new cases detected in the previous week (127,753).
PRESIDENT HONOURS ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU WITH SPECIAL
OFFICIAL FUNERAL CATEGORY 1
President @CyrilRamaphosa has, as a mark of deep respect, declared that the late Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu be accorded a Special Official Funeral – Category 1.
The Archbishop, a globally venerated theologian, anti-apartheid campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, passed away on Sunday, 26 December 2021. The Special Official Funeral will take place in St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, on New Year’s Day, Saturday, 1 January 2022.
Desmond Tutu was the first black cleric to be elected as the Bishop of Johannesburg before being inaugurated in 1986 as the first black cleric to become Archbishop of Cape Town.
The Presidency has noted media reports on an Afrobarometer survey on public perceptions of corruption in society, in which a majority of the respondents felt that corruption had worsened over the last year.
The results of the survey no doubt reflect the lived experiences of many South Africans who continue to encounter corruption in various forms. This could be in accessing frontline government services or businesses seeking procurement opportunities with the state.
Corruption, whether large or small, remains one of the greatest challenges facing our country, holding back economic growth and social development. Corruption robs citizens both directly & indirectly, and undermines confidence in the institutions that are supposed to serve them.