The City of Johannesburg has assured residents that the clinics will remain open during the lockdown period, which is expected to begin at 23:59 on Thursday following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Monday announcement for a national lockdown.

In a statement, member of the mayoral committee (MMC) responsible for Health and Social Development in the City of Johannesburg, Councillor Eunice Mgcina, has urged residents to work with the City to curb the spread of the virus.

Mgcina appealed to residents to follow the guidelines set out by the municipality to reduce the number of people visiting the clinics during the lockdown period.

“Patients stable on chronic medicines will be issued with a two-month supply at a time. All other planned vaccinations for children and adults will continue and where changes are made, patients will be informed timeously,” said Mgcina.

She said as part of the City’s efforts to decongest clinics her department has decided to increase medication pickup points across the regions and is working closely with its partners.

Medication can also be collected at the Sharp-left containers placed on clinic grounds. All clinics will continue to operate normal hours between 7am and 6pm but limited hours on Saturdays.

MMC Mgcina emphasised that due to the unusual circumstances, there are shortages of certain medicines and efforts are being made to source stock and normalise operations.

She said the City will communicate regularly with patients and communities to reduce panic and advise on alternatives.

“Working with National and Provincial departments of Health, the City of Johannesburg’s health department will continue to communicate changes to the clinic operations to better manage the envisaged disruptions to the normal and standard operating procedures.”

She also appealed for the residents to cooperate with the City during the lockdown to for everybody’s health and safety and she also reminded residents to wash their hands for 20 seconds, maintain social distancing and avoid crowds.