City of Cape Town will shut down these facilities due to coronavirus – The South African

The City of Cape Town has on Tuesday 17 March announced that the following facilities will no longer be in use due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

The city has noted the key containment and mitigation measures that are being implemented across the world and in South Africa in an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19. We have taken note of best practice from other affected countries and the success they have found in social distancing and improved hygiene practices, it said in a statement.

These facilities will be closed from Wednesday 18 March:

Furthermore, visits by the Citys Mobile Office have been suspended until further notice.

Library operating hours (including mobile services) will be reduced incrementally and these facilities will provide only basic services, namely, taking out and returning reading material. The number of persons allowed into the library will be controlled due to the rapid spread of coronavirus. Needless to say, this might change at short notice.

Cemeteries will remain open, although residents are advised upon making bookings to be mindful of the number of persons at the graveside during burial and to please stick to their allotted times. The Recreation and Parks Department is working to keep gravesites as far apart as possible to limit contact between mourners during burials.

The City also reminds the public that an announcement was made by the National Minister of Social Development that all Early Childhood Development Centres will close on Wednesday, 18 March 2020, in line with the schools.

The City realises that, due to the closure of sporting facilities, there will be an impact on community sporting culture and especially on the municipal facility management committees (MFMCs) who work with the City on the management and maintenance of the facilities. We plead for their understanding and request the support of MFMCs to ensure that all non-essential contact is avoided and that social distancing is strictly enforced to avoid the coronavirus.

Please note all public meetings and non-critical meetings, gatherings and site visits will also be postponed indefinitely unless an emergency meeting is called which we will communicate on. The situation is being assessed on a daily basis and is subject to frequent and rapid change, it said.

Offices that provide city services like cash offices, driving licence testing centres and housing and planning offices will remain open for now.

Residents are advised that all events at the citys nature reserves have been cancelled and staff are currently working on refunding affected stakeholders, we will provide a full refund for any bookings and also permits to Steenbras Gorge.

The city encourages account holders to make use of the citys online service offerings, where it is possible to do so, rather than visiting city customer centres for over the counter transactions.

Customer offices will remain open, however, strong precautions will be taken to ensure a heightened level of hygiene and customers are encouraged to rather conduct their business online or via telephone than over the counter if possible. The number of people going to the offices must be limited to limit the spread of coronavirus. Customers are reminded that accounts still need to be paid.

The city encourages account holders to use the citys online e-services portal to pay their accounts. Other payment options available to account holders include paying online using their banks website or via ATM, at Nedbank.

The city is already listed as a beneficiary with all major banks, so account holders do not need to load bank details when paying online. Account-holders can also register with http://www.paycity.co.za or http://www.easypay.co.za to pay accounts.

To pay via ATM, account holders can simply contact their bank to add the City as an ATM beneficiary.

If account holders have any questions related to their account, they can please call 0860 103 089 for more information. Account-holders should keep the reference number theyre provided with to track the progress of their query.

The Citys Motor Vehicle Renewal which includes motor vehicle licence renewals, vehicle registrations and licence payments can be done online. An online licence application takes approximately 14 days from the date of application to receiving it in the post, so residents must please bear this in mind and act in a timeous fashion.

Residents who would like to go this route can do so via the Citys online services portal (http://www.capetown.gov.za//Vehic/Pay-your-vehicle-licence).

Residents are reminded to take along their proof of address when renewing their motor vehicle licences. This must be done annually as per National Government requirements. It is very important for customers to have all of the required documentation with them when they apply for licence disc renewals to prevent any additional delays.

Driving License Testing Centres remain open; however, strong precautions have already been instituted to ensure a heightened level of hygiene. All eye testing equipment is sanitised after each user to slow the spread of coronavirus. Staff have been issued hand sanitisers, and gloves and masks are on order.

Additional sanitation of all work surfaces has been implemented. The number of occupants have been limited as per the queuing system. Notices have gone up at all DLTCs, advising the public of precautions to take to promote good hygiene and limit the spread of the virus.

One can pay traffic fines online via:

The following can be done via e-Services:

We know that this will prove inconvenient for some of our residents but in the interest of containing this highly contagious virus and for the protection of all our residents, we trust our residents will understand the need for these measures, it said.

Numerous resources have been made available to the public regarding the coronavirus. These include: