Dear Dr M.J Phaahla MP – Minister of Health

RE: REGULATIONS RELATING TO THE SURVEILLANCE AND THE CONTROL OF NOTIFIABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONS : AMENDMENT
NATIONAL HEALTH ACT 2003

This amendment for the National Health Act 2003 is of great concerned to many of us South African’s. These concerns, if the amendment goes through, could lead to disastrous consequences. Firstly, this country has one of the highest rates of suicides recorded in the world.[ Motsoari, C 2021] Covid-19 may have assisted in heating up the cases of mental illnesses, such as depression which has been raised up to 300% since 2020. We need to seriously consider these phenomena. The damage to the children up to young adults, because of the side of effects due to the pandemic may be dealt appropriately with timely interventions. Secondly children and adolescent have experienced a huge disruption in their daily lives due to closure of schools and changes with their daily routine including sports activities and connecting with their friends. The young children experienced drastic feelings of loneliness, and some could not even spend time on social media due to parents’ salaries been lost.
Dysfunctional systemic inflammations have shown increase impair to the neurodevelopmental processes and this led to cognitive and mood disturbances in young children and adults alike. Long-term physiological and psychological impairments should be brought to your attention, as future statistic figures could drastically rise if any further isolation is planned in the future. The Children of South Africa have suffered immensely over the last two years in so many ways. Another vital concern is the impact that fear of uncertainty is having on our families today due to all these restrictions and isolations that were implemented. Additionally, there is evidence clarifying that chronic stress has a enormous impact on the amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity and activity, damaging the extinction of fear memory.
Research has recently reported that due to financial depletion and concerns there was high prevalence of fear in children and adolescents that were forced to quarantine, thus causing very traumatic results and stress that is still been dealt with today. [de Figueiredo, C. S., Sandre, P. C., Portugal, L., Mázala-de-Oliveira, T., da Silva Chagas, L., Raony, Í., Ferreira, E. S., Giestal-de-Araujo, E., Dos Santos, A. A., & Bomfim, P. O. (2021).]

On behalf of the people of South African’s, my next concern is the extremely high figure of unemployment in this country. Low salaries below R 5000 / months and the rising numbers of single mothers. Due to the pandemic many South Africans of all different cultures and race lost their jobs, their company and some their families broke apart due to the impact the covid19 had and traumatised many. Additionally close to 70% of the population that began their lives on a non-poor structure experienced downward mobility that fell into a structural poverty situation, whereby assets have been immensely depleted. Moreover, due to the covid-19 pandemic the population’s health, education and employment prospects have been severely affected to such an extreme that will take years to redeem. My concern for the people of South Africa, is what you mention in the amendment that it will be necessary to:
(i) submit a medical examination, including, but not limited to, the taking any bodily sample which may be authorised by any law.
(ii) Be admitted to a health establishment quarantine or isolation site or.
(iii) submit to mandatory prophylaxis, treatment, isolation, or quarantine, in order to prevent transmission.
The whole amendment is coming across procedures in 2020. We as South Africans have proven repeatedly that we can overcome this omicron (2021) and any further replications of this virus. TB is worse than this covid and yet this country never went into lockdown. Why is that? TB is fatal and there is not much available to help restore a person back to health after they contracted TB, even worse if they have aids as well.
[The estimated number of TB cases in South Africa in 2018 was 301,000, while the number of deaths were 63,000, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD). In 2019, an estimated 360,000 South Africans became sick with TB and 58,000 died from the disease.[Isilow, H, 10th January 2022]

SUMMARY:
To conclude this matter, there are various angles one can bring to your attention, whilst you are contemplating the amendment. But the facts remain that, we have a constitution that was put together for the protection of the people in South Africa, a benefit to be enjoyed by all its people. According to the Nuremberg code and our constitution.
(i) Bureaucrats do not have the right to deny potentially life-saving medications to anybody
(ii) No person or organisation and no governmental body has the right to demand that another person consume, inject, or apply any treatment to their body accord