COVID-19

Date Issued: 18 November 2020

Dear Residents

I have noted with concern the sudden increase of the Covid -19 infections in our town. We suddenly jumped from 7 Active cases in the middle of October to 168 on the 11th November 2020. We have had a growth of 189% in new Covid -19 positive cases in the past week.

The sudden surge in numbers have resulted in Bitou being declared a Covid-19 Hotspot in the Garden Route District and we are currently just below George and Knysna as the town with the most infections. The Western Cape Department of Health has confirmed that our medical facilities are under severe pressure due to the number of people that flock at our clinics and hospitals.

We are facing the upcoming Festive Season and we are a very popular town for holidaymakers. Every year during November and December, we welcome thousands of tourists into our town. This is good for our econo-my as it create jobs and business opportunities for our residents. However, this year we are having mixed feel-ings because of the Covid -19 pandemic.

Although we are looking forward to welcome our guest to our shores, we are also concerned about what the impact of Covid-19 will be on them and us.
Plettonians, we need to prevent further spread of the Covid-19 virus. We have seen many people recovering from the virus but we also have seen many people succumbing to death due to the virus. We need to act re-sponsibly. We need to adopt an attitude that says I can save someone else’s life by being a responsible per-son.

Under Covid-19, a responsible resident is one that act responsibly by doing the following;

1. Wears a mask whenever out in the public and amongst other people;
2. Regularly washes his or her hands with soap and clean water or uses a sanitizer to clean his or her hands;
3. Maintain a social distance of at least 1.5 meters from other people;
4. Avoids large gatherings, especially in areas with low or poor ventilation;
5. Avoid physical contact with other people; and
6. Respect and abide by all Covid-19 regulations and protocols.

I plead with the residents of our lovely town not to endanger the lives of other people by acting in an irrespon-sible and irrational manner. We can only overcome this pandemic if we respect life. We must respect our own life and the life of those that we;

• Live with at home;
• Call our neighbors;
• Work with at our places of work;
• Worship with in our Churches and places of worship;
• Socialize with in places of entertainment like Taverns, Restaurants and etc;
• Engage with in Meetings and other gathering;
• Travel with in our vehicles including taxis and lift clubs;
• Study with in our schools and tertiary institutions;
• Play with on the sports facilities;
• Shop with in our malls, spaza-shops, supermarkets and etc.

People must realize that we owe it to ourselves and to those we love to act responsibly. We must respect our-selves so much to respect the lives of others. If we do not protect ourselves, we are endangering the lives of our fellow South Africans. Make it your mission to prevent the spread the Covid-19 virus.

Yours Faithfully
Cllr Peter Lobese
Executive Mayor: Bitou Municipality