No more than 20 people can attend burials during 21-day lockdown, says eThekwini mayor

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Durban - In light of the looming 21-day lockdown this week, eThekwini Municipality mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, has advised residents that burial is restricted to members of the deceased and may not exceed a maximum of 20 people. There will also be restricted access to cemeteries during the lockdown. He said Kaunda made the announcement on Wednesday in a bid to reassure residents that all essential municipal services will be operation during the next three weeks. He said bookings and use of community halls, parks and nature reserves will remain closed to the public during the lockdown period. Sizakala centres and banking halls will be operating with limited services. The public is urged to preferably use online payment methods and supermarkets to pay their Municipal accounts. The City’s call centres will also be operational during the lockdown for the public to log calls. It is important to note that essential services such as lifeguards at the beach, crematoria, Mitchell Park Zoo, tree cutting and grass cutting will function with minimal staff," he said. Kaunda further urged residents to obey the conditions of the lockdown.

“The city will ensure that residents comply with the directive of President Ramaphosa to combat the spread of the coronavirus. As a city that accounts for more than three million of the KwaZulu-Natal population, we have put tough measures in place to ensure that we save lives,” he said.

Some of these measures include the establishment of a war room which is constituted by political leadership and senior management of the municipality. This war room meets twice a week to take decisions on Covid-19 interventions and monitors the implementation of these decisions.

“We have also created a Joint Operations Committee of doctors and other technical officials to provide advice and regular updates from the Department of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. Over and above these structures we have put in place to curb the spread of the virus, we are also assisting communities to adhere to personal hygiene,” he added.

Kaunda said the Covid-19 war room took a decision last week to implement further safety measures in public spaces and facilities. These include the prohibiting of swimming at beaches and the closure of swimming pools, libraries, museums as well as restricting the number of people visiting parks.

However, due to the beach ban being ignored by some, Kaunda said Metro Police has been asked to enforce these measures in order to save lives.

He said those who ignore the law and go to the beach, will be physically removed from the beach.

The Mercury