The SA National Defence Force was deployed at midnight when the country went into lockdown.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula refused to divulge the number of soldiers deployed to help police enforce regulations during the 21-day lockdown, but she assured South Africans that they were ready for their task.
“In one of the briefings, we received information that the epicentres here in Gauteng [are] Sandton and Bedfordview. Now, once it’s in Sandton, we should worry about our people in Alex and the conditions [in] which they live,” said Mapisa-Nqakula. Mapisa-Nqakula said it was worrying that thousands of people rushed to leave Gauteng, saying some of them could have been carrying the deadly virus and could have spread it to other parts of the country.
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