The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will arrive in Gauteng on Monday afternoon to help fight COVID-19, as reported by eNCA.
On Friday, Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane confirmed that Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had agreed to deploy military health personnels to ease the workload on health professionals in the province.
The public recalls brutal treatment by SANDF personnel
Reacting to the news, the public brought up Level 5 lockdown, under the impression that the country has reached that point, with some people making assumptions that we are going back.
South Africa, we must revolt if we go back to Level 5. SA had one of the strictest lockdowns in the world and yet the number of infections skyrocketed. Lockdown is not the solution to fight the virus. This country lacks proper leadership, that is the problem.
— Thuso van Zyl (@Thuso1Africa) June 21, 2021
However, there are no reports about Level 5 lockdown as yet.
SANDF will be working in hospitals and testing centres. There are also no reports about the defense force being deployed to enforce the law in the communities, as they had previously done so under stricter lockdown restrictions.
Gauteng province currently has more than 6 000 new cases.
Here are some comments the public made about the deployment of SANDF medics:
Let’s not forget how SANDF brutally abused people especially in the townships under the guise of enforcing Covid regulations.
— Tumi Sole (@tumisole) June 21, 2021
Some people lost their lives & families are without breadwinners.
Remember!
I can’t understand how the @SANDF_ZA will combat the crazy #Covid19SA infection rate & poor health care infrastructure to handle the 3rd wave with no hope for vaccinating millions of residents (paid or unpaid), sky rocketing inflation & unemployment, but we are deploying! https://t.co/RWvxO6iLlh
— Yaseen Theba (@yaseentheba) June 21, 2021
A lot of people also raised concerns about the vaccination roll-out plan. They said that South Africa doesn’t need SANDF right now but vaccinations. Currently, over two million people received the vaccination, almost 500 000 of which have been fully vaccinated, according to the health department.