CAPE TOWN, April 4 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday held a special meeting as part of efforts to fight COVID-19 amid the fast spread of the pandemic.
The meeting to assess progress and challenges on the implementation of the nationwide lockdown to curb the virus was the first virtual meeting of the Presidential Coordinating Council.
As of Saturday, the total number of coronavirus cases in South Africa stood at 1,585, an increase of 80 from the previous day, with nine deaths, according to the country's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
In Saturday's meeting, Ramaphosa urged the government and society at large to rethink how the government, businesses and communities function and relate to each other in the fight against the epidemic.
The president reasserted that the national lockdown, although causing inconvenience, has proven to be effective, given the fact that some countries that took similar measures have contained the spread of the virus.
The meeting discussed a report from the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, which included adherence to the national lockdown regulations, continuous tracking of contacts, accommodation requirements, identified quarantine sites and the roll-out of the mass community testing program.
A total of 5,400 workers have been trained and deployed across the country so far, while thousands more remain to be trained, according to a presidential statement issued after the meeting.
Priority districts and 993 wards have been identified, which are composed of the most vulnerable and at-risk communities as well as areas with high rates of infection, the statement said.
Provinces are working with the National Health Laboratory Services to identify testing sites which will include both fixed and mobile test facilities, it added.
Through the COVID-19 Data Management Center, the government is receiving potential clusters of infections and thus deploying pre-emptive targeted testing in identified areas, presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said.
In addition to daily estimates of infections, it also assessed local healthcare capacity and the efficacy of the 21-day lockdown, which began nine days ago, said Diko.
