Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize’s proposed amendments to regulations on notifiable medical conditions came under fire in Parliament this week with some opposition parties slamming it as an attempt to give the minister, “through the back door”, powers which will “allow him and the executive to impose far-reaching restrictions”.
But public health and medical law experts welcomed the proposed amendments to the regulations and even made some suggestions on how it could be improved.
For a while now, the country has been caught between the pressure of a suffering economy under COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, and fears about a possible second wave. Now, it seems that there may be a way out of this ‘hostage situation’, albeit not a perfect one.