The high-risk status in Muizenberg has been lifted on Monday. The Muizenberg area was declared a red zone area on Sunday after another brutal attack on Emergency Services Personnel.

Two Cape Town paramedics are receiving counselling after they were attacked while responding to a call in Seawinds near Muizenberg on Sunday.

The Muizenberg community was declared a red zone area which meant that no emergency staff members could enter the area without police escort.

The high-risk status was lifted on Monday.

Metro EMS spokesperson Robert Daniels said the Western Cape Emergency Services responded to a patient in St Patrick Road in Seawinds at 07h30 on Sunday morning.

“The patient was, unfortunately, Dead on arrival (DOA) and upon returning to the vehicle to retrieve a death certificate, the crew was assaulted and robbed of their personal belongings,” said Daniels.

Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said a simple act such as being visible from the front door of your own home while EMS personnel tend to your neighbour is already a step in the right direction as criminals fear being positively identified.

“The community can simply keep an eye over an emergency vehicle parked outside the patient’s home while the crew is tending to the patient inside,” she said.

Mbombo said they have made significant progress in terms of keeping the attacks down and have seen a decrease of just under 50% in reported attacks for the previous financial year.

“The great partnership between the departments of Health and Community Safety and the SAPS has yielded positive results, with a criminal handed a 12-year jail term after a robbery involving EMS personnel and resources,” she said.

Meanwhile, there have been at least 56 attacks on emergency service workers in the province, this year alone.

At an EMS Safety Symposium held last week, government and civil society called for greater collaboration to prevent further attacks on emergency personnel.

Loushe Jordaan / VOC