As SA’s Covid-19 death toll rose to 25 at the weekend – with health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize still warning about a calm before the storm – municipalities are preparing emergency cemeteries and even mulling the possibility of mass burials should the body count climb.

The pandemic has claimed the lives of nearly 115,000 people across the world and roiled the global economy, with SA now in the middle of a public health crisis.

While the rate of infection appears to have been stayed by a national lockdown and screening and testing initiatives – which are set to be ramped up – city officials in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban are preparing for the worst.

The three metros are at this stage the hardest-hit in SA.

Cape Town mayoral committee member for community services and health Zahid Badroodien said several contingency measures had been considered, among them mass graves.