Public servants in the Department of Health are going all out to educate and inform the public about the H1N1 influenza as a way of kick-starting the public education campaign of government.
KwaZulu-Natal has more than 296 confirmed cases including one death with eThekwini and Pietermaritzburg being the hardest hit by the fast spreading virus. South Africa has 3485 confirmed cases and six deaths from the disease. The Western Cape and Gauteng have the highest numbers of people with the virus (52 and 23 percent, respectively) whilst KwaZulu-Natal accounts for 10 percent of infected people.
Public servants are visiting taxi ranks and shopping malls in and around Pietermaritzburg distributing information packs and talking to people about the disease. This exercise is replicated in all ten other districts in the province and in all provinces of the country.
The full plan will be rolled out in the following week in four parts. These include:
* information sharing session with journalists
* community rallies targeting 6600 public schools, malls, three airports, taxi ranks and public areas
* print media adverts
* public service announcements on radio
* press conferences.
For more information contact:
Chris Maxon
Cell: 083 285 0567
Fax: 033 3420429
E-mail: chris.maxon@kznhealth.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Health, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
19 August 2009
