A South African minister has been suspended by the state’s president for breaking lockdown rules meant to check the spread of covid-19 after she attended lunch at a former minister’s residence.
“South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Ms Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on special leave for a period of two months – one month of which will be unpaid,” a statement from the office of the president read.
The statement added, “As to allegations that the minister violated the lockdown regulations, the law should take its course.”
Ms. Abrahams was suspended because she paid a visit to the home of a friend who hosted a luncheon, which violated the lockdown rules set by the government.
Ramaphosa expressed his disapproval of Abraham’s actions, which undermine the regulation that all citizens must stay at home and save the Rainbow Nation from the spread of the coronavirus that has claimed thousands around the globe. The virus first appeared in Wuhan in China.
South Africa has extended the curfew for another two weeks in an effort to fight covid-19. Authorities say the measure will slow the spread of this “invisible enemy”.
So far, the number of victims of covid-19 in the African continent has reached 608 and the cases is estimated at 1,200.
The virus poses a great danger to Africa whose health infrastructure is in poor state in addition to lack of physicians who can play a great role in stemming the deadly virus that has turned into a global disaster.
Covid-19 continues to permeate rapidly in the continent. Governments have resorted to different measures to curb the virus, which may be a “time bomb” according to some experts.
The most affected countries in the WHO African Region are: South Africa (1 749 cases), Algeria (1 468 cases), Cameroon (555 cases), Burkina Faso (364 cases), Cote d’Ivoire (349 cases) and Ghana (287). Together, these countries account for 67% of the cases reported in the region.
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