In an effort to flatten the curve of the coronavirus in Gauteng – which has recorded the largest number of infections in the country – the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has on Monday delivered 100 more water tanks to communities in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The 100 water tankers, with a capacity of 2500 litres, are in addition to the 187 water tanks the Department delivered on Sunday to communities across the province.

The Department aims to deliver water tanks and water tankers (trucks) to vulnerable communities to allow them access to water to wash their hands during the period of the sweeping deadly coronavirus.

The Department is one of the frontline Government Departments working to ensure that the country is not overwhelmed by the virus.

In line with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s measures to combat the virus, Minister of Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, announced the immediate provision of water to especially desperate communities.

This is to prevent the curve of the virus being even steeper if communities lacked access to water.

DWS’s Gauteng Provincial Head, Sibusiso Mthembu, said the delivery of water to various communities in the province was well underway and proceeding at a satisfactory pace given that Gauteng was profoundly hit by the virus.

Mthembu added that Gauteng was the engine of the country’s economy and this necessitated that no effort should be spared to ensure that there was a semblance of normality in as far as water access was concerned.

He said the central objective of the Department was to quickly provide water to communities to weather the storms of increasing infections, making it a point that people were able to stay healthy now and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is of utmost importance that members of the communities keep the social distance and stay one meter apart as they are out to access water from the water tanks. This is significant in that we must get on top of the virus and that we stop the transmission of the virus,” said Mthembu.

Reiterating the necessity of saving lives, Mthembu said the work of the Department would continue so that the vulnerable were cushioned from the impact coronavirus, adding that complacency was not an option during this time.