LISTEN: eThekwini still the epicenter of Covid-19 cases
According to the KZN Health Department the emerging statistics show the virus is moving around due to people’s failure to adhere to the precautionary measures.
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ETHEKWINI is still the epicenter of Covid-19 cases in the province.
This is according to KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu who alongside KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala hosted a press briefing on Sunday.
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“In KZN so far, the province have had 7 786 confirmed Covid cases, 112 deaths, and 3 417 recoveries. A week ago, we had 5 030 confirmed cases, 84 deaths, and 2 594 recoveries. This means that in the past week, 2756 people have tested positive; 28 sadly lost their lives; while 823 thankfully recovered,” she said.
According to MEC, a large number of healthcare workers have also been affected by the pandemic.
“A total of 478 healthcare workers have tested positive for Covid-19 in the province in both the public and private healthcare sectors. This includes doctors, nurses, allied healthcare workers and support staff,” she said.
The MEC added out of concern for the growing statistics in this regard, the department is undertaking a number of interventions.
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“There will be intense and regular training of staff, this will include programmes to promote behavioural change, psychological maturity and de-stigmatisation of Covid-19. We will also intensify training on donning and doffing procedures (that refers to how to put on the protective gear, and how to take it off safely). We also want all nurses to take on the role of being champions of Covid-19 so they can monitor each other. We will also continue consulting with labour unions in this regard.”
“Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have largely been reporting more impact in urban-based centres. The past few weeks have increasingly revealed that rural areas are the most vulnerable. This is evident in the number of infections from the rural based districts. We are seeing key vulnerabilities in rural areas influenced by, among other things, funerals and cultural engagements.
“There is less compliance and monitoring of Covid-19 protocols during these occasions. We are also noting that there is increasing non-compliance as more and more public transport operators are no longer adhering to Covid-19 health requirements. There is virtually no sanitisation that is taking place, social distance is compromised, and no regular decontamination is taking place. This is posing a risk of spreading infection at a rate that will overwhelm all of us,” she said.
She added it is clear from the emerging statistics that the virus is moving around due to people’s failure to adhere to the precautionary measures.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
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