Africa-Press – Eswatini. “Ditching face masks in Eswatini would be a mistake.”
This is an assertion by Manzini Regional Administrator (RA) Chief Gija when he was asked if it was safe for Eswatini to review the face mask restrictions as suggested by some parliamentarians.
Chief Gija is an active advocate for the observation of all restrictive measures against the COVID-19 that ravaged emaswati, especially in Manzini such that the region was named the epicentre of the virus with the highest number of positive cases and a significant number of deaths during the second wave.
In a bid to flatten the COVID-19 curve, the Manzini COVID-19 Task Team, whose chairperson is the RA, engaged several stakeholders in several intervention initiatives aimed at capacitating the public about everything they needed to know about the virus and how they could prevent its spread.
According to the RA, recent statistics indicate that there had been few positive cases that have been recorded in the country and almost zero deaths. However, he said this did not mean that Eswatini was ready to make any changes to the COVID-19 Regulations of 2020, more so because very few emaswati have vaccinated against the virus.
Statistics by the ministry of health as at March 26, 2022, indicate that a total of 339 080 emaswati have fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This is only 29.2 per cent of the total population.
In his opinion, Chief Gija said this was a small fraction not enough to warrant government to relax the face mask restrictions. He said if only a larger portion if not all citizens of the country had taken their jab as advised by the ministry of health and the World Health Organization (WHO), the review on the regulations could be made as informed by several factors.
“It’s a pity that government tried so hard to avail the COVID-19 vaccines for emaswati only for them not to vaccinate. Citizens still need to take their jab and observe all precautionary measures until the ministry of health advises otherwise,” he stated.
Further, the RA said the misconception that the virus no longer existed on the basis of the daily reports should be crushed because the positive ones may still transmit the virus especially because most citizens are not yet vaccinated for various reasons, including fears caused by myths about the vaccine.
“Although there may be zero COVID-19- related deaths, some people die not knowing that they were infected by the virus, so we still need to ensure that we observe the precautionary measures at all times,” said the RA.
Furthermore, he said Eswatini cannot afford to relax the COVID-19 regulations just because other neighbouring countries have done so. Instead, he stated that government had to consider the situation in the country.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa last week announced eased COVID-19 restrictions, saying face masks are no longer being required outdoors.
Still, citizens are still expected to mask-up when in public spaces.
The president also stated that attendants of indoor activities will need to have proof of vaccination or a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, not more than 72 hours old. This also applies to non-South Africans who have not yet vaccinated for COVID-19.
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