By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will be visiting Hammmaskraal in the north of Pretoria on Thursday, with several government officials to access the situation since the cholera outbreak.
Hammanskraal has been at the centre of a recent cholera outbreak which has killed 24 people in the area, with two more deaths in Free State and Mpumalanga.
According to the presidency, Ramaphosa will begin the visit with a stopover at the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant that will be followed by a community meeting in Hammanskraal.
He is also expected to interact with residents on measures the government is implementing.
The government has set up a “command centre” to try to combat the outbreak, with the City of Tshwane cooperating with the Departments of Health, Water and Sanitation, Social Development and others.
Health authorities are yet to confirm the exact source of the cholera outbreak, but poor waste water management and local government instability in South Africa’s capital city have been blamed for the situation.
Cholera can cause acute diarrhoea, vomiting and weakness and is mainly spread by contaminated food or water. It can kill within hours if untreated.
Symptoms include sudden diarrhoea, which is painless, watery diarrhoea (rice stool), nausea and vomiting, and fever among children, and some individuals do not feel ill.
The disease spreads through the ingestion or drinking of contaminated water with human faeces.
South Africa recorded its first two cholera cases in February on the back of outbreaks in nearby Mozambique and Malawi, the two most severely affected countries in 2023, according to the United Nations.
Cholera is a water-borne disease caused by ingesting contaminated food or water. The infection is extremely virulent, although it can be easily treated once identified.