officers and 150 investigators. A total of 500 safety officers were deployed in February 2020. The safety plan aims to halve the province's crime statistics within the next decade. Fritz added that the provincial government would also establish an integrated violence prevention programme. On 22 October 2019, he appointed Harry Malila as the new Director-General of the Western Cape Provincial Government. Malila succeeded long-serving Brent Gerber. On 22 October 2021, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane found that Winde and the Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, had breached the Executive Ethics Code over their handling of issues at the Oudtshoorn Local Municipality. In his capacity as a member of the Judicial Service Commission, Winde voted on 25 July 2022 to recommend that the Judge President of the Western Cape High Court, John Hlophe, be suspended by President Ramaphosa for gross misconduct. COVID-19 response On 11 March 2020, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the Western Cape. Winde and the provincial minister of health, Nomafrench Mbombo, then organised a media briefing about the province's preparedness. The provincial cabinet approved the request for the establishment of a provincial hotline to assist the National Institute for Communicable Diseases hotline and also resolved that all people returning from overseas should be advised to self-isolate. Winde was exposed to a positive case of COVID-19 on 18 March 2020. He consequently worked from home as medical experts advised him not to go into self-isolation or be tested. As positive cases in the province started to climb, Winde released daily detailed updates on the spread of the virus. On 13 May, Winde announced that he would self-quarantine after his contact with eNCA cameraman Lungile Tom, who interviewed Winde days before he died from the virus. On 8 July, in the midst of the province's "first wave" of infections, Winde announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19, and would be self-isolating. As the province began to experience its "second wave" of infections in early-December 2020, Winde said that there should be harsher penalties for people who violate the regulations. Winde and the provincial government mulled introducing "mini lockdowns" on certain district municipalities and local municipalities, but the newly elected DA leader, John Steenhuisen, said that there was "no evidence" that lockdowns work. Winde later said that he would argue against a stricter lockdown being imposed on the Western Cape as a