DCC concerned over large numbers at funerals
SEKHUKHUNE – The Sekhukhune COVID-19 District Command Council (DCC) has expressed concerns about residents continuing to attend funerals in large numbers during its virtual meeting last Friday to reflect on the impact of the ongoing pandemic.
The DCC extended its wishes to remind the residents of Sekhukhune district that social gatherings were prohibited while attendance at funerals was limited to 50 persons.
Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) Executive Mayor, Stanley Ramaila, who chairs the council, said that the coronavirus continued to ravage the country and encouraged people to avoid gatherings because by doing so, they increased their chances of infections.
Ramaila added that people ought to avoid a situation wherein they overwhelmed the healthcare system to a breaking point.
The DCC meetings are attended by the Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya and Limpopo Education MEC, Pollly Boshielo, in their capacities as political champions of the District Development Model to the Sekhukhune District as well as Limpopo Cooperative Government, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) MEC, Basikopo Makamu, who champions cooperative governance.
The council meetings are also attended by the district’s four local municipalities’ mayors and sector departments such as health.
The DCC has resolved to lobby for the personnel who work in the all-important industry to be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination following deliberations on the challenges that the funeral services industry faces.
“The personnel in the funeral services are at the coalface of the work that makes them extremely vulnerable to COVID-19,” said Ramaila.
The government’s vaccination rollout efforts were noted and welcomed and the DCC encouraged persons between the ages of 35 and 49 to seize the opportunity and register for vaccination. Persons over the age of 50 years were also encouraged to still get vaccinated.
The DCC extended a word of gratitude to the people of Sekhukhune district for refusing to get involved in the looting and destruction of property that were recently seen in other parts of the country.
