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www.thevillagenews.co.za
17 June 2020
Reopening tourism will ‘save jobs, livelihoods and the economy’ From P1 According to Western Cape Minister of Finance & Economic Opportunities, David Maynier,businesses in the tourism sector, many of whom are small, medium, and micro enterprises, do not have cash reserves to sustain their operations for such a lengthy closure. “Now more than ever, businesses need to be able to continue to trade safely and responsibly to ensure that we save jobs, livelihoods and the economy during the Covid-19 crisis. Since the start of the pandemic in the Western Cape, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and I have been engaging actively
with the tourism industry to understand the impact of Covid-19 and to work with them to prepare the industry to be able to safely re-open in time. In total we have had 11 engagements with industry, consulting with a number of businesses and industry representatives,” Maynier said. The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) last week presented its Tourism Recovery Strategy to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Tourism. According to TBCSA CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, the data-driven Tourism Recovery Strategy advocates for an earlier phased reopening of international tourism to South Africa
as soon as September 2020. “While one of the comments raised by the Tourism Portfolio Committee was that the proposed September timing may be impacted by the predicted peak in COVID-19 infections experts estimate could happen around September, the TBCSA highlighted that the reopening would be dependent on the development and roll-out of stringent and practical health-focused protocols by the travel and tourism value-chain to safeguard staff, travellers and guests,” he said. “We acknowledge the good work being done by government to get tourism back on track. Tourism is a
vital sector to South Africa’s economy that accounts for 1.5 million jobs, and many of those employed are young people. By nature of tourism’s value chain, there are also significant benefits to other parts of the economy when tourism reopens. We are committed to doing this safely,” said Tshivhengwa. “As we see elsewhere in the world, the opening of domestic tourism is the first phase in ensuring that tourism starts to open slowly and leads the way. Business travel is the largest component in the formal travel industry and its reopening provides us with an opportunity to see how we can further open domestic leisure within the context of the protocols in
the very near future,” he said. The proposed phased strategy provides for an initial 6 to 8-week preparation phase, followed by a Phase 1 trial where safe source markets with similar risk profiles and stages of pandemic would be allowed to travel to South Africa. These travellers would be vetted, all stringent safety protocols would be in place and the focus would be on low-contact products and low-risk areas. In Phase 2, South Africa would further open key markets and expand the experiences on offer, until in Phase 3 air access is opened fully and the destination can restart its longer-term growth strategy.
Fernkloof plan still Infections at schools open for debate raise concerns The controversial management plan for the Fernkloof Nature Reserve is still to be approved after a decision was made by Council that the plan first needs to be considered by Ward and Portfolio Committees before it can serve before Council for ratification. According to the municipality, the final draft of the Fernkloof Nature Reserve Protected Area Management Plan (FNR PAMP), including recommendations to the Overstrand Council, were submitted by May 2020, in compliance with agreed deadlines. “Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic precluded the normal decision-making process, including the Ward Committee meeting consultations, from taking place. This item served before the Mayoral Committee at the Council Meeting on 27 May, where it was decided to request a workshop with councillors before the item would be considered. This workshop subsequently took place on 8 June 2020,” the municipality said in a statement.
According to them the FNR PAMP was presented and thoroughly discussed, and after due consideration it was agreed that the final draft, together with the recommendations, would be submitted to Council once it had been considered by means of a normal procedural cycle, which would afford Ward Committees and the Portfolio Committees an opportunity to discuss the document and its recommendations. In the meantime, this process will also provide an opportunity for all interested parties to peruse the final draft document before the item will serve before Council at a later stage, depending on when the Covid-19 regulations will have made it possible to convene the Ward Committees and the Portfolio Committees. The FNR PAMP is available on the municipal website, www.overstrand. gov.za. Click on Documents, Strategic documents, Environmental Management, Fernkloof.
A total of 185 staff members and 49 learners have tested positive for Covid-19 in the Western Cape since 18 May, and at least 20 schools had to be closed to be disinfected last week. This was confirmed on Monday by Bronagh Hammond of the Western Cape Education Department.
The department has stressed that cases had not spiked due to the reopening of schools and that most of these cases had been reported before the schools reopened. “The number of infected staff members also includes cases where those staff members have not yet returned to school,” said Hammond. “Therefore they were not infected on school premises. Most of these cases are a result of community transmission and not school transmission.” In line with confidentiality clauses, the department has declined to name schools that are affected, but confirms that all schools have been provided with strict guidelines on the safety protocols that have to be followed whenever an employee or learner tests positive or is exposed to someone who has tested positive. If there has been a confirmed case of Covid-19, the school is required to contact the district and also to inform the parents of the school and their employees. In a digital press conference hosted by Premier Alan Winde last week, he who was joined by Provincial
Minister of Education, Debbie Schäfer and Chairperson of the South African Paediatric Association, Professor Mignon McCulloch, amongst others, to provide the public with an update on the safe reopening of schools in the province. Prof McCulloch again emphasised that children are at lower risk of acquiring and transmitting Covid-19 and that the benefits (educational, mental and psychological health, food security and safety) of reopening schools exceed those of keeping children at home. “Provided the precautions of face masks, hand-sanitising, environmental cleaning and physical distancing are adhered to, we support the staggered approach of getting children back to school. Where cases of infection do arise, these should be managed on a case-by-case basis. However, we respect the autonomy of well-informed parents and caregivers to decide what is in the best interests of their children,” she said. According to data provided by the Western Cape Department of Health, as of 5 June, there had been a total of 1 787 cases of Covid-19 in people under the age of 20 in the province. This represents roughly 6% of all cases at the time. Of these, five children (0.3%) have died, mostly due to serious comorbidities. – Hedda Mittner
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