Wearing masks, practising physical distancing and washing our hands regularly are some of the regulations the government has imposed as the country battles with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But not everybody can afford to buy cloth masks and hand sanitisers, so Mayor Dan Plato handed over more than 2 000 masks and sanitiser at Khayelitsha mall last Saturday.
Mr Plato said it was essential that residents of informal settlements had access to these items and called on community leaders to continue educating their communities about how to prevent contracting the coronavirus.
He also expressed deep concern about the long queues at the mall and the fact that people were not maintaining the required physical distancing.
“The private sector has really stepped up by offering food donations, face masks and cleaning materials. I would like to thank Polo for this donation. We know some don’t even have the means to buy the masks hence it was important to donate these to them.
“The numbers in our province are alarming and the only way we can stop the spread of Covid-19 is through adhering to these instructions given to us.
“I’m not happy to see a lot of people standing like this and I have already informed the leadership of Khayelitsha that this needs to be resolved.
“We have given the residents two masks per person so that when the other one is dirty at least there is another one,” he said.
Chairperson of Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF), Ndithini Tyhido, thanked the mayor for showing a “spirit of care and leadership” because many residents were unable to buy food, let alone masks and sanitisers”.
Mayoral committee member for community services and heath, Dr Zahid Badroodien, said the masks were durable, washable and reusable and an effective way to limit the spread of the coronavirus.