South Africans casting their ballots on the last day of special votes should practice social distancing, wear a mask, and sanitise when going to cast their ballots on the last day of special votes, the South African Medical Association (SAMA) urged on Monday.
This follows the announcement from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in April that warned of flu strains in circulation.
“Protect yourself, put on a mask, and if possible, keep a distance because, I mean, it matters when it comes to respiratory infections, so I would strongly recommend that we still apply those COVID measures that we used to apply in the past,” SAMA Chairperson Dr. Mvuyisi Mzukwa warned.
Influenza is a viral infection that can lead to severe symptoms such as high fever, body aches, and respiratory problems, especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly, young children, and people with chronic health conditions.
What is 'Special Voting'?
Special voting began in South Africa on Monday for 1.6 million people who applied to vote early due to special needs ahead of the May 29 election day.
According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), polling stations opened at 9 a.m. for 1 million voters, while trained electoral officials will visit the homes of 600,000 people who will cast their votes from home. Special voting will end on Tuesday. South Africans in the diaspora voted last week.
According to South African law, one can apply for permission to cast a special ballot if the person is physically infirm, disabled, pregnant, or cannot vote at their registered polling station on election day.
South Africa will hold national and provincial elections on Wednesday, which experts believe will be the tightest since the first post-apartheid democratic elections of 1994.
There are over 27 million registered voters, according to the Independent Electoral Commission, voting for lawmakers from provincial legislatures and 400 members of parliament, known as the National Assembly.
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