Covid-19: Military impose curfew in South Africa

Hundreds of homeless people are being evacuated from the center of Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa, by military and police deployed to impose a 21-day curfew to contain the covid-19.

The South African government today announced the first two deaths from coronavirus as well as more than 1,000 infected.

In the early hours of today, Johannesburg’s emergency medical services treated a group of German tourists who were later hospitalized on suspicion of infection by the covid -19, according to the ENCA channel .

Despite the restrictions announced by the Government and South Africa started, at 00:00 today (23:00 Thursday in Lisbon), three weeks of general confinement in the country, thousands of people remain on the streets.

The President of the Republic and commander-in-chief of the country’s Armed Forces stressed that the military detachment, enacted to help the security forces to keep people at home, “is not of force, but for the protection of citizens”.

“Your mission is to save lives, we are not the only country at war with an invisible enemy – the coronavirus ,” said Cyril Ramaphosa .

Force military’s National Defense Africa South ( SANDF , its acronym in English) and the effective of the South African Police (SAPS, the acronym in English) were highlighted in â framework of the national state of disaster (in force since 15 of March ) and confinement national 21 days now declared..

In Cape Town, capital of the Western Cape province, where two people died of Covid -19 respiratory disease , the authorities’ mission is being hampered by the commercial activity and impassiveness of hundreds of inhabitants, South African television channels showed.

Today, only those who provide essential services are allowed to move to the place of employment.

In an attempt to contain the pandemic , the South African authorities suspended public rail and bus services, further restricting road transport of people to half capacity per vehicle, including driver.

The minibus taxi, principal means used by the South African population responsible for the daily transport of about 20 million people, are allowed to operate only between 05:00 and 09:00 (03: 00-07: 00 Lisbon) and between 16:00 and 22:00 (14: 00-20: 00 Lisbon).

However, local television showed long queues of users in stations and halts of vans taxi after 09:00 local.

In the northeast of the country, thousands of Mozambicans are congesting the Lebombo border (also known as the Komatipoort border ) to leave South Africa, the public channel SABC reported .

The pandemic of covid -19 today caused the first two deaths in South Africa, which has already crossed the barrier of a thousand infected , announced the Minister of Health.

The province of Gauteng , surrounding Johannesburg and the engine of South Africa’s economy , with a quarter of the population of 57 million, is the epicenter of the pandemic on the African continent with over 400 positive cases of the covid -19 confirmed by the South African authorities. African.