The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber says Covid-19 positive cases in the Metro have doubled in the past seven to ten days.
Chamber President, Dr Andrew Muir, says they’re seeing a marked increase in the number of patients occupying hospital beds, particularly in private hospitals.
Muir, who represents the Business Chamber on the Metro’s Covid-19 Command Council, says he’s deeply concerned that the numbers are trending in the wrong direction.
He said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that the Business Chamber had in recent weeks noted some complacency in terms of the levels of compliance by some businesses to the required regulations.
Muir cautioned that government cannot be blamed if this complacency results in stricter regulations being imposed and that everyone must play their part in helping contain the spread of the virus, thus ensuring that economic activities can continue at the current less stringent Alert Level 1.
Meanwhile, The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Police and the South African Police Service are working together to clamp down on Covid-19 non-compliance social gatherings.
Non-compliance social gatherings have been highlighted as a contributor to the rise in positive cases.
The Metro's Disaster Management chairperson, Shane Brown says the decision was taken at a meeting on Tuesday.
He says special attention will now be focused on these gatherings, especially going into the weekend.
