South Africa praised on a global scale by the World Health Organisation for slowing the spread of the pandemic through a strict lockdown and medical rollouts.
Global (23 April 2020) – Doctor Michael Ryan from the World Health Organisation (WHO) spent some time on Wednesday praising South African officials. During the media briefing, Dr Ryan commended all the actions taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa and other African leaders.
The lockdown has been an irritation for some but most of the South African public have welcomed the strict lockdown. The government has had a chance to catch up and boost testing protocols.
South Africa first entered lockdown on the 27th of March. It was then extended to the end of April. According to international media, the lockdown is seen as one of the strictest around the world.
Doctor Michael “Mike” Joseph Ryan is an Irish former trauma surgeon and epidemiologist specialising in infectious disease and public health. As part of WHO, his comments on South Africa have left a little warmth in our hearts.
“It is interesting to me the manner in which South Africa is bringing the disease under control,” Ryan said. “African countries are in many ways showing the way. The strategy in South Africa was based on preparation, primary prevention, lockdown and enhanced surveillance.”
“Sixty-seven mobile units around the country, 28 000 community health workers trained in case detection and over 120 000 tests completed with a 2.7% positivity rate – which is incredible.” – Dr Michael Ryan
Whatever may come this evening during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech, we should all be proud of how far we have come in the last month! Together, we will get through this!
For more information and reports on COVID-19 in South Africa, please visit the official South African website here.
by 