Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly says the pandemic has taught us a lot about the need to quickly get government lifelines for business from the political mountaintop to the ground. It’s a lesson that will be put to the test in the second wave of COVID-19 lockdowns.
“We want to use what we’ve learned from the pandemic, and make sure that this doesn’t go to waste – use it for the reopening and relaunch of the economy,” Ms. Joly said in an interview on Wednesday.
“We decentralized. We came closer to the ground. We really adopted an approach of proximity with businesses,” she said. “We can’t go back. And we really don’t want to go back.”
Nehawu flags concern about capacity at Gauteng hospitals The union said it had hoped the Provincial Command Council would provide answers on how Gauteng planned to tackle the expected increase in COVID numbers. However, the briefing scheduled for Thursday was postponed indefinitely. FILE: A nurse from Lancet Nectare hospital performs a COVID-19 coronavirus test in Richmond, Johannesburg, on 18 December 2020. Picture: AFP.
91 days ago
JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng province is under pressure to provide clear measures on how it plans to deal with an expected peak in COVID-19 infections as holiday makers return from various destinations across the country.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) said it was concerned that some of the province’s hospitals were already taking strain.