George Municipality is calling on residents and all South Africans to observe a moment of silence at nine minutes past two on Monday, to mark a week since a building under construction collapsed in the City.
The Municpality says this sign of solidarity is a poignant gesture to honor those who perished, and to extend their heartfelt support to the families affected by this tragedy.
This, as the death toll a week after the tragedy unfolded, now stands at 24 while 28 people remain unacccounted for.
The National Deputy Minister of International Relations, Alvin Botes, and the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, will be visiting the site on Monday.
FAST-TRACKING OF PATHOLOGY SERVICES
Officials say they are proactively setting up plans to expedite the identification of the deceased to bring closure to the families, however, they are experiencing difficulties in obtaining accurate names of individuals missing or deceased.
An urgent appeal was made to those who have lost contact with their loved ones to go to the George Civic Centre in York Street, for the Department of Social Development to collect detailed and precise information.
The Joint District Operations Centre's adherence to a stringent double verification protocol is crucial for maintaining the integrity and accuracy of reported numbers of the deceased, which is essential in emergency and disaster response scenarios.
This verification process involves cross-referencing information from multiple reliable sources, such as recovery teams, hospitals, and forensic services.
Authorities are still calling on professional psychosocial support practitioners proficient in Chewa, Portuguese and Shona to come to the scene to assist survivors and their families.
If you are a practitioner who would like to assist please contact Ms. Kholiswa Jobela at 078 210 5972 or Mr. Apolus Swart at 061 504 4205.
