Simelane-Zulu under fire for surprise birthday party
KwaZulu-Natal's Health MEC and some of her colleagues have come under fire for breaking Covid-19 regulations at a party over the weekend after video clips of the event emerged on social media.
MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu has confirmed it was a surprise birthday party for her.
She says when she arrived, she did a headcount to make sure the gathering was within limits.
"Upon her arrival, the MEC first expressed her surprise and noted that there was adequate social distancing. She then personally conducted a headcount of those who were in attendance, which showed that there were 36 people on site.
"She went on to encourage those in attendance to adhere to social distancing and constantly use the hand sanitiser that was freely available at the venue," KZN Health Department says.
READ: IEC extends cut-off time for candidate submissions
Simelane-Zulu says at some point, guests stood up to dance and weren't wearing masks because they were still eating.
The MEC says she regrets that she and some of the attendees were unmasked at the time.
"The MEC deeply regrets the failure by some of the attendees, including herself, at that time, to wear masks, during this short performance during dining."
She says she will submit a formal report to the premier.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says it's unfortunate this happened as KZN recorded more than 3 300 daily coronavirus infections.
It's called for disciplinary measures against those seen in the videos and says those found guilty of breaking the regulations must be brought to book.
