Media Statement: Public Transport – Critical days for the Elderly, Disabled and other beneficiaries
Media Statement
For Immediate Release
30 March 2020
SASSA will pay social grants to older persons and persons with disabilities from 30 to 31 March, other beneficiaries will be able to access their grants from 1 April to 3 April 2020.
We encourage all persons over 65 years old to stay at home as far as possible, if accessing grants today and tomorrow, going for shopping or any activity in public, please remember to keep to a social distance of 1.5m. Also, stay hygiene-conscious, make sure you keep your hands clean.
The elderly should try not to stay too long in risky areas like shops, banks and pharmacies.
PAPER NOTES
Like any other surface with which a large number of people come in contact with, paper notes can carry bacteria or viruses. COVID-19 can live on paper surfaces for 24 hours. This week is a very critical week as the elderly will get ALL PAY.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), website, “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has a virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
GLOVES
If elderly persons have access to gloves they should wear them, sanitise their hands to prevent the spread of the virus.
ATM MACHINES
ATM machines need to be regularly sanitized.
POINT-OF-SALES MACHINES
Point-of-sales machines need to be wiped regularly with a disinfectant.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
If taxis are used by the elderly, please see to it that the windows of taxis and buses are opened and well ventilated. Taxi operators must be encouraged to ensure that all passengers’ hands are sprayed with an approved disinfectant.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: GO GEORGE
GO GEORGE will offer its reduced public transport for extended periods between the hours of 05:00 and 20:00, from 30 March until Friday 3 April 2020. This follows the announcement of the Minister of Transport received late this afternoon. We are frantically busy and trying our best to bring in additional drivers from the lockdown and revise our timetables. We are trying to do in a few hours what normally takes a few days.
THIS IS PURELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF SOCIAL GRANT RECIPIENTS TO TRAVEL TO PAY POINTS. SASSA beneficiaries are required to carry their IDs and SASSA cards when travelling on public transport as prove that they are using the service for this purpose.
• Public transport remains a VERY HIGH-RISK ENVIRONMENT for the spreading of the Covid-19 virus, and even more so for the elderly and vulnerable members of the community. Please try to make alternative arrangements if you MUST leave your house.
• If you own a car and have a friend, neighbour or family member who needs to go into town to draw their grant money, PLEASE OFFER THEM A RIDE. Let’s practise UBUNTU.
• If you have absolutely no alternative but using the bus, please consider travelling to town after the morning peak period (after 08:30) to give those that render essential services and have to travel to work, space on the bus – seats are very limited now.
• By lockdown regulation, every bus can only load 50% of its seating capacity, which comes down to 20 passengers on a GO GEORGE bus to ensure adequate social distance between passengers.
• Where needed, trips trip will be undertaken with two buses in a row to accommodate as many essential services staff as possible while keeping to the maximum of 20 passengers per bus.
• To limit potential exposure of passengers to the Covid-19 virus, GO GEORGE is currently not adding more routes to the reduced service during lockdown.
These arrangements are subject to change. Any changes will be communicated to the public through the GO GEORGE Facebook page and the media.
Thanks for spreading the Covid-19 health safety measures.
ENDS
Media Queries
Herman Pieters | Senior Communicator
Garden Route District Municipality
E-mail: communications@gardenroute.gov.za