Non-compliance with Alert Level 1 regulations is one of the major reasons given for the spike in Covid19 cases in Nelson Mandela Bay.
This was the message from the Municipality on Wednesday following a meeting of its Coronavirus Command Council.
According to the latest figures, there are over 5 570 active cases in Nelson Mandela Bay, and according to Disaster Management head, Shane Brown, the Metro's hospitals, private and public, are full.
He says frontline workers are also getting infected with Covid-19 and some have also died. This has led to a shortage of staff who are already suffering from fatigue.
In some cases where ICU beds are available, there are no staff to "attend" to those beds.
Brown says the Metro is now, not only the hotspot in the Eastern Cape but also the country due to the numbers growing at an alarming rate.
He says on Tuesday alone, 840 positive cases were recorded.
But, Brown says the major problem is non-compliance with regulations, saying where there's nightlife, there's no social distancing.
"What we've heard from the province and national is that the last thing that we want is a lockdown. But, it cannot be ruled out if we don't start complying and bring the curve down that is seriously threatening the city. Covid is all around us," he said.
Brown said that the difference between the first wave and the second wave is that in the first wave you could see where the hotspots were and what was creating it and the second wave is purely all over the city. There's no part of the city that's not infected.
Meanwhile, acting mayor, Tshonono Buyeye, says a concerning trend is the number of younger people, aged between 14 and 24, being infected.
He says from the reports being received from both private and public hospitals is that the Metro's in a serious situation.
Buyeye also highlighted the fact the VW-sponsored field hospital was still operational and has over 200 patients.
"The field hospital is like gold to us now and I'm happy that we didn't make a decision at the time (to close it). We were told about the second wave that might come, we were sure that we would be ready with what we have but the reality now is that the reports that we are getting now are beginning to scare all of us," he said.
The issue of compliance when it comes to social gatherings is becoming a worry. "If we don't change our ways the situation has the potential of getting worse than it is now."
Nightclubs are not allowed to be open under Lockdown level 1 and several establishments are trying to still operate.
Brown says seven places have already been shut down for selling alcohol and operating after the midnight curfew.
The Metro says pubs should be responsible and call "last round" at 10 pm.
