By Kaya 959 Reporter
The organisers of the matric Ballito Rage Festival in KwaZulu-Natal have called off the event after 36 people tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a statement from the organisers, 32 guests and four staff presented positive results.
“We take the safety of all our customers, staff, and suppliers extremely seriously. It is for this reason that the event organisers have taken the decision to cancel the remainder of Ballito Rage,” the statement read.
The festival opened for the first time on Tuesday with unprecedented COVID-19 protocols in place. Some of the measures included mandatory vaccinations for all staff and guests.
Pre-arrival COVID-19 tests were also required for all guests.
“On Tuesday all remaining staff and all guests underwent COVID-19 tests at the testing centre near the event site prior to entering the event. Between 2pm and 10pm, 940 guests and staff were tested and 32 guests and 4 staff presented positive results. The Department of Health was on-site and worked together with our team to conduct contact tracing and ensure isolation of positive individuals and staff as per government protocols,” they said.
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Officials welcome cancellation
Ticket holders will receive further information in the coming days via email.
“We strongly urge all ticket holders who choose to stay in Ballito further to continue to be extremely responsible, stay safe and play their part in fighting the spread of COVID-19,” organisers said.
KZN MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane welcomed the cancellation of Rage.
“From October, we have been working with the organisers to find the best way to manage this event. But because we could not close it down ourselves at the time, we agreed that we’d manage the numbers according to the regulations,” she said.
MEC Simelane added that the virus was easily transmissible. She says that any close proximity between those who are infected, with other people, could create a potential super-spreader event.
She urged all other big event organizers to consider postponing their events.



