More than 70,000 extra troops will be deployed in South Africa to help enforce a lockdown intended to stop the spread of coronavirus, the national broadcaster SABC has reported.
Opposition leader John Steenhusien on Tuesday evening tweeted a letter that President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote to parliament saying that he had decided to deploy an extra 73,180 soldiers because of an increase in reported cases across the country.
Good speech this evening by the President and sounded all the right notes: Phased smart lockdown to allow economic activity , IMF approach and a R100 billion injection into frontline health budget plus a stimulus package that focuses on saving lives AND livelihoods 👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/gWK9xQ59oX
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) April 21, 2020
The operation is expected to cost around $2.4 million / 2.2 million euros, said the letter, which was dated Tuesday.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed the letter’s authenticity on Wednesday.
“If you look at the numbers and the rate at which the infection has gone up, you will realise that at some point we may actually need the kind of human deployment which has never been seen before,” Mapisa-Nqakula told local radio.
“If you look at the numbers and the rate at which the infection has gone up, you will realise that at some point we may actually need the kind of human deployment which has never been seen before,” Mapisa-Nqakula told local radio.
“We need to tighten and foresee (and) make sure that our people understand fully the dangers of getting this virus,” she said, adding that soldiers were also deployed to assist the public and medical personnel.
“People need to understand that the laws and regulations… have been put in place to protect them,” Mapisa-Nqakula added.
Initially, the president had approved the deployment of just under 3,000 soldiers to assist in the implementation of a strict lockdown.
Currently, there are 3,465 confirmed coronavirus case in South Africa and there have been 58 deaths.
