AfriForum has submitted an urgent application to the Gauteng High Count (Pretoria) to have Minister of Co-operative Government & Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s regulations aimed at putting everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 under compulsory state quarantine declared invalid. In a statement on the Politicsweb site, AfriForum says these regulations are unconstitutional, illegal and irrational. The regulations determine, among other, that everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 – regardless of whether they show any symptoms – will soon be put in the government’s isolation facilities.
“These regulations give the state the power to force people without their permission into quarantine – even under circumstances where the person may be able to effectively self-isolate. This gives law enforcers and the state too much power under the guise of combatting the spread of the virus,” says Monique Taute, manager for campaigns at AfriForum.
In its application, AfriForum argues that forcing people into quarantine when they can effectively self-isolate, places an unnecessary burden on already limited state resources – and may lead to people refusing to get tested from fear of compulsory state quarantine.
[link url="https://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/in-court-over-dlaminizumas-irrational-regulations-?utm_source=Politicsweb+Daily+Headlines&utm_campaign=2c1b0ce15c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_17_03_58&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a86f25db99-2c1b0ce15c-130040921"]Full report on the Politicsweb site[/link]