Delays in determining the location of public viewing areas in cities not hosting Soccer World Cup matches were the “Achilles heel” in the Department of Health’s preparations for the big event, Parliament heard yesterday.

These are sites where fans who do not have tickets will be able to watch World Cup games on big screens. There will be nine official Fifa fan parks in the host cities and dozens of public viewing areas around the country, which are the responsibility of municipalities.

“We still have no idea where any public viewing areas will be in non-host cities,” the department’s head of 2010 planning, Peter Fuhri, told members of Parliament’s health committee.

Public viewing areas would need to be manned by healthcare personnel from 10am to midnight, Fuhri said, and the delay in designating sites for locations made it difficult to assign resources.

It was up to city managers to decide where to locate public viewing areas. The department and the police had recommended to the provinces that such sites be limited to one per district.

Another challenge was ensuring healthcare personnel did not go on strike during the World Cup, Fuhri said. “If emergency services (staff) go on strike, we will be hard pressed to cover our responsibilities.” Negotiations were under way with unions to ensure staff did not take leave during the month long World Cup, he said.

Responding to questions from MPs regarding plans for limiting the spread of HIV, Fuhri said there would be a prevention campaign during the World Cup. Free condoms would be provided in dispensers in public toilets, including those in stadiums.