COVID-19: Zulu King adds voice to lockdown appeal as cases cross 10,000 in S Africa

By Fakir Hassen

Johannesburg, May 11 () Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has added his voice to the calls for South Africans to adhere to the coronavirus-linked national lockdown regulations as the COVID-19 cases in South Africa crossed the 10,000 mark.

Zwelithini, leader of the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with about 12 million living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal which is his realm, appealed to the people to adhere to the instructions from the government and the medical experts during his address from his royal residence in Nongoma on Sunday.

The monarch's remarks came amidst growing concern about the number of people not following the regulations such as compulsory wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing.

South Africa is currently in a level 4 lockout in a five-level risk-based strategy for lockdowns, with fears that there may be a return to the highest level if people continue to disregard the regulations.

In terms of the level 4 lockdown, some businesses have bene allowed to reopen after an earlier total shutdown as the economy stutters and growing unemployment creates long queues for food handouts.

Zwelithini reminded his audience of the response from the public during the previous epidemics and historical incidents such as the Spanish Flu and the World War II.

"Those who lived during those difficult times (and complied) did not die and lived to tell the tale. We must also listen in order to ensure that we save this world for our future generations," he said.

The monarch said that during the World War II, the nations were divided, but the world is now united in fighting the pandemic.

Zwelithini commended President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet, singling out Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, who hails from his province, for what he described as a "sterling" job in leading the country in the fight against COVID-19.

Earlier Zwelithini's office confirmed that all his official engagements have been cancelled until further notice.

On Sunday, Mkhize confirmed that there were eight more deaths, taking the death toll to 194 as COVID-19 infections in South Africa increased to 10,015.

Mkhize said that a total of 341,336 tests have been conducted.

"We are, however, encouraged by the number of recoveries, which was 4,173 as of May 9, 2020," the minister added. FH CPS