Johannesburg, 28 July, 2020 / 8:55 pm (ACI Africa).
A missionary Priest ministering in South Africa has said that majority of people in the country are not taking COVID-19 precautionary measures seriously despite high infection rates and cautioned that the laxity could lead to more stringent government-sanctioned restrictions.
"The drama is that in the last few days people have lowered their guard. Too many people go around for work or to have fun because they have the feeling that the virus is not dangerous,” Fr. Pablo Velasquez, a missionary ministering in the country has told Agenzia Fides.
The laxity, the member of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians) said, “is likely to aggravate the situation and to sink into an even more rigid lockdown than what we have experienced in the past few months."
South Africa has the world’s fifth highest COVID-19 infections at 453,000 cases. At least 275,000 people have recovered while another 7,067 have succumbed to the pandemic.
Fr. Pablo is concerned about the plight of people living in slums who are not observing the laid out COVID-19 measures such as social distancing, wearing masks, sanitizing among others.
