WATCH | Bok captain Siya Kolisi's message to South Africans in lockdown

Through his foundation‚ the Kolisi Foundation‚ Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has announced an initiative to provide face masks‚ hand sanitisers and goggles to the Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth and the Khayelitsha Hospital in Cape Town.

This is Kolisi’s part in an effort to curb the spread of the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in South Africa.

The virulent respiratory disease has already claimed the lives of two people in the Western Cape while reported cases are nearing 1‚000 in South Africa. Cape Town has the most reported cases in the Western Cape.

The Kolisi Foundation initiative will supply more than 4‚000 litres of hand sanitiser‚ 400 reusable pairs of goggles‚ and face shields. The foundation will continue to escalate its response over the coming months as the needs develop at the hospitals.

In a statement‚ Kolisi said the battle against the virus that’s continuing to claim lives around the world can’t be government’s alone. In response to the virus‚ on Sunday‚ President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national shutdown that took effect at midnight on Thursday. It’s slated to end on April 16.

“We as a nation should be proud of the way our commander-in-chief‚ our President [Cyril Ramaphosa]‚ has laid the law. It shows how important this is but we can’t leave everything to the government‚” Kolisi said.

“We all have a role to play. For some of us‚ that is to stay at home right now‚ and for some of us‚ we can do a bit more than that. That is to offer resources and help out any way we can.

“The most important thing right now is to fight‚ to show a united front as a country‚ and we can only achieve that together. Personal business aside‚ it’s about people getting behind South Africa and getting behind those who can’t help themselves.”