Ramaphosa: SA’s 6 Metros Remain Epicentres of COVID-19 Pandemic

LUCAS LEDWABA

THE country’s six metros go into the alert level-3 of the covid-19 lockdown next week still faced with the threat of a rising rate of infections of the disease which has already killed 429 people.

President Cyril Ramaphosa named the City of Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and City of Cape Town metros as coronavirus hotspots when announcing cabinet’s decision to downgrade from alert level 4.

The metros are the country’s major economic hubs with dense populations and their performance in handling the spread of the virus may have an impact on the economy which has already taken a battering from the two month lockdown.

Furthermore, the metros are likely to be the hardest hit as a result of a major decline in generation of revenue caused by the lockdown. The SA Local Government Association has projected a R14 billion revenue loss by municipalities