Migrant worker exodus undermines South Africa virus lockdown
JOHANNESBURG – Migrant workers in Gauteng, South Africa’s economic hub and the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak, are heading home in droves ahead of a three-week national lockdown, raising the risk of the pandemic becoming more widespread.
The province has among the country’s best medical facilities and it is “not the most rational response” for residents to leave and place their families and other communities at risk, Premier David Makhura told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday. “The lockdown will be undermined.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on March 23 that the containment measures will come into effect at midnight on Thursday. People will only be allowed to leave their homes to go shopping, collect welfare grants and seek medical care — unless they provide an essential service.
Source: iol.co.za
