President #Ramaphosa: My Fellow South Africans, We have lost many lives to this pandemic.
Many of us have had to bid farewell to a loved one, a friend or a colleague.
President #Ramaphosa: As we look back on a year of much pain and sorrow, it is important as a nation that we should honour and remember all those who have succumbed to this disease.
President #Ramaphosa: It will be appropriate that during the #16DaysofActivism for No Violence against Women & Children – which is the second pandemic we are confronting – we demonstrate remembrance of all those who have departed due to #COVID19 pandemic & gender-based violence.
From the onset of this crisis, we have sought to both save lives and protect livelihoods.
President #Ramaphosa: That is why in April we introduced a massive economic and social relief package to limit the effects of the pandemic on companies, workers, households and communities.
President #Ramaphosa: This intervention was essential to keep businesses afloat, to protect jobs and to prevent millions of people from going hungry.
President #Ramaphosa: As we have said before we need to utilise various tools in our coronavirus toolbox to fight this virus.
We can also use technology to fight the virus.
President #Ramaphosa: I call on each of you to join the 700,000 South Africans who have downloaded the Covid Alert SA mobile app.
President #Ramaphosa: The Covid Alert app can notify you if you have been exposed to the virus – whether it is in a taxi, a shopping mall or a social gathering – and it does so without sharing your location or any personal information.
President #Ramaphosa: To ensure that we can keep all the necessary prevention measures in place, we are, as required by the Disaster Management Act, extending the National State of Disaster by another month to the 15th of December 2020.
President #Ramaphosa: The second area of concern that we need to pay attention to is the upcoming festive season, during which many South Africans travel to other parts of the country and where people tend to gather socially.
President #Ramaphosa: These activities, if not undertaken responsibly, pose the greatest immediate threat to our management of the pandemic.
But we can avoid a second wave if we each play our part, if we remember what we need to do to keep ourselves and others safe.