Emergency COVID hotline swamped by callers after number mix-up
At the start of lockdown, the Government’s 111 national number was meant to serve as a COVID-19 emergency hotline.
In an awkward number blunder, the same number was used by a cellphone company, as their customer care helpline.
It resulted in the COVID- 19 Emergency Call-Center being inundated with calls from customers trying to find out when they are due for a phone upgrade.
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According to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the number 111 will now only be used as the “Covid-19 National Emergency Services” helpline.
Martin Bester could not believe that this happened and that no one thought it would be a problem.
Listen to the full conversation on Breakfast with Martin Bester below.