https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / News / All News RSS ← Back
Africa|Health
Africa|Health
africa|health
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

UN chief in full support of SA government's 'strong, necessary' measures against Covid-19

Close

Embed Video

UN chief in full support of SA government's 'strong, necessary' measures against Covid-19

UN Secretary General António Guterres
UN Secretary General António Guterres

19th May 2020

By: News24Wire

SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres has described actions taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government in fighting the spread of the deadly coronavirus as "strong" and "necessary" measures.

In a TV interview with SABC News on Tuesday, Guterres said while he understood the frustrations expressed by those demanding an immediate reopening of the economy, he believed steps taken by Ramaphosa were correct.

Advertisement

"One thing is clear – there is no real contradiction between measures taken to prevent the disease and economic recovery. If we let the disease spread, no economic recovery will be possible," Guterres said.

In total 286 people have died of Covid-19 in South Africa, while 16 433 have been infected.

Advertisement

More than 4-million people across the globe have contracted the coronavirus.

"I hope the population will have patience and I hope the government will progressively find the ways to, in a very smart and targeted way, progressively re-open society and the economy to minimise the social and economic impact of Covid," the UN secretary general said.

On Monday, in his address to the 73rd World Health Assembly, Ramaphosa called for global solidarity in a bid to fight the pandemic.

He warned that Covid-19 amplified already dangerous and growing inequalities within and between different countries.

Guterres, who said he was also separated from his family due to a semi-lockdown, called on South Africans to be patient.

He added that the SA government showed lots of determination in addressing the pandemic.

The UN chief said it had always been obvious that South Africa would be vulnerable to Covid-19, as it had great movement of people in and out of the country and had been seen as a "magnet" for other African states.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options
Free daily email newsletter Register Now