Health Dept Met With Ministerial Advisory Board After Public Criticism

The health department said it has met with members of the ministerial advisory council who have publicly criticized the government on the continued lockdown and who claimed that their advice was ignored.

One of the members of the council Dr Glenda Gray told News 24 on Saturday that the lockdown has no basis in science and should be lifted.

Her comments followed that of other scientists such as Shabir Mhadi who publicly said the continued lockdown is flawed.

President Cyril Ramaphosa may have announced that lockdown regulations will be eased and see most parts of the country move to Level 3 restrictions, but members of the ministerial advisory council believe the lockdown has served its purpose and shouldn’t continue.

Members of the council said they were not consulted on the different levels of lockdown.

But the acting director-general in the department of health Dr Anban Pillay said the council was not established to advise the government on the different levels of lockdown.

“That criticism is actually not well-founded simply because the ministry’s advisory committee has been established to provide information about how the COVID-19 disease and technology, treatment, and the laboratory management of the disease happens. They have been providing advice on those areas because that is their area of skill and competence and we have accepted and implemented those.”

He said in the meeting on Saturday night the members of the advisory council raised their concerns, which were around regulations and that the trade and industry minister explained the government’s position.

EWN