20 000 Durban Healthcare Workers Still Unvaccinated, Vaccination Sites Closing Down for Festive Season

• Not enough people are getting the Covid19 vaccine during the festive season in eThekwini and as a result, sites will be temporarily closing
• The municipality says it will be closing down vaccination sites on all public holidays as well as on New Year's Eve
• The city has been seeing an increase of healthcare workers getting infected with almost 20 000 of them still unvaccinated

DURBAN - The festive season is at its peak and as a result, eThekwini is seeing only a few people who are willing to get vaccinated.

The eThekwini Municipality has now taken the decision to close down all vaccination sites as well as pop-up sites that were stationed near beach entrances for the duration of the festive because only five beachgoers have taken advantage of the sites since 16 December.

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Msawakhe Mayisela, the Durban city's spokesperson says vaccination sites will be closed on Christmas, Boxing Day and the public holiday that falls on 27 December. The sites will also be closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, according to EWN.

20 000 healthcare workers not vaccinated

Nomagugu Simelane, the MEC of Health in KwaZulu-Natal says part of the reason the sites will be closing is the fact there is an increase of healthcare workers who are testing positive for the coronavirus.

Simelane added that there is a concern about healthcare workers because approximately 20 000 of them have still not been vaccinated against Covid19, according to The Witness.

Simelane also stated that the province has seen a drop in the number of people that have been vaccinated from 20 000 a week to about 10 000 since the festive season kicked off.

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South Africans say crowded Durban beaches will help SA reach herd immunity

Briefly News previously reported that with the festive season in full swing, South African holiday-makers have made their way to the sunny Durban beaches in their numbers.

However, the large crowds gathered on the beaches without masks or any sort of social distancing has sparked rage amongst South Africans because of the increasing Covid19 infections that are being driven by the Omicron variant.

TimesLIVE reports pictures and videos that were taken over the weekend has gone viral on social media with many people raising concerns about how crowded the Durban beach looks. This prompted the eThekwini municipality to respond to the backlash that has been levelled against it.

Take a look at what South Africans have to say about crowded Durban beaches:

@OfferAubrey said:

"This is the best thing for natural immunity. Let it be. We have been doing this for Millenia...and our immune response has kept us safe. Stop with the fear-mongering."

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@Jzt_Claire said:

"Well, we're getting Covid from going to work and the shops, so if you're gonna get it anyway, might as well get it doing something fun."

Source: Briefly News