The City of Cape Town has raised concerns as its health department reported an increase in incidents of non-compliance to Covid-19 protocols by residents.

On Monday, the city council said its environmental health practitioners were “particularly concerned” about residents going about as per normal and not wearing the mandatory face masks as well as crowd management in shopping malls and other public places.

The council said it worked hard to overcome the peak of the pandemic in the province and the focus should be on rebuilding lives, communities and the economy as a whole, however, it would have all been in vain if residents continued dropping their guard against the deadly virus.

Mayoral committee member for community services and health, Zahid Badroodien said the caseload and fatalities relating to Covid-19 has dropped significantly in the past month, however, residents cannot change their behaviour.

“I hear far too many anecdotes about the pandemic being a thing of the past – this is not true, particularly if one looks at the many countries where lockdowns have had to be reintroduced as a result of a second wave of infections.

“Cape Town and South Africa needs to take heed from these cautionary tales and do everything possible to mitigate the risk of a second wave here. Currently, the caseload, admissions and fatalities by week remains stable within the metro.”

Badroodien said the testing positivity rate for Covid-19 remained stable at below 10 percent and the indicators were being monitored closely for any signs of additional waves of Covid-19 infections.

He urged the public to continue abiding by health and hygiene protocols and wear their face masks at all times in public to assist in avoiding a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

“Increased vigilance is crucial – we cannot afford to lose focus,” Badroodien said.