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.
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.
ALSO READ: SA Covid-19 recovery rate nearing 70 000
“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.
ALSOI READ: Ramaphosa calls for stigma around Covid-19 patients to stop
“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
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
