President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered a full military deployment as part of the government's response to the COVID-19 health crisis, defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed on Wednesday.
The minister said the deployment was scaled up from just under 3,000 soldiers to more than 73,000, including reserve forces, as the government realised the enormity of the health threat and the logistics involved in supporting the police in enforcing the national lockdown imposed on March 27.
The revised cost for the military deployment during the crisis, the president said, will be R4.590 billion.
It includes members of the regular force, the reserve force and the auxiliary force, the president said in the letter.
Ramaphosa cautioned that abruptly lifting restrictions would result in an overwhelming increase in infections, which at the moment stand at 3,465 confirmed cases.
Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said the military's duties will include helping the police, man roadblocks and carry out search and seizure operations, but soldiers and military medical staff will also assist health care officials, including mass screening for infections.
Soldiers may also be called on to handle the bodies of those who die in the pandemic, she added.
The minister deplored the negative publicity the military deployment has received in recent weeks.
- African News Agency (ANA)
