Eastern Cape govt worries over rise in alcohol-related crimes

The Eastern Cape provincial government says it working with alcohol industry role players to intensify a mass awareness campaign aimed at reducing alcohol abuse following the increase of alcohol-related crimes in the province.

Speaking on the status of Eastern Cape’s response to Covid-19, the office of the province’s premier said use of alcohol has been found to be the causal factor in the commission of many crimes.

This included 73 culpable homicide cases, 236 murder cases, 1,066 assault GBH cases, 135 attempted murder cases, 45 cases of people driving under the influence of liquor where accidents occurred, 64 cases of driving under the influence of liquor where no accident occurred, and 291 rape cases which were reported.

“The South African Police Service (SAPS) is investigating all these cases where crime was committed and will ensure that any person who has committed crime will face the might of the law. Use of alcohol is no justification for any person to commit crime. Our goal is to prioritise protection of women and children, who are victims of these evil crimes,” the premier’s office said in a statement.

On Covid-19 cases in the Eastern Cape, 763 healthcare workers in both the private and public sectors were infected by the virus.

“Sadly, we lost 24 of our healthcare workers,” it added.

The office said there were 15,751 people infected with Covid-19 in the province as of 21 June, while 8,035 people had recovered from the virus, with 285 people losing their lives.

“We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of each and every one of our brothers, sisters, and elders we lost in the fight against this virus. We wish all these families strength during this hard time,” the office said.

A total of 133,790 lab tests were conducted in the province with 107,736 conducted by the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS), 14,546 by Ampath, and 11,508 by Pathcare.

There are 169 private sector and public sector facilities with a combined total number of 5,460 beds that are readily available, with some being used for quarantine or isolation in the province.

“On Tuesday, we will be receiving the field hospital constructed by the Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) through funding from the German government. We appreciate this investment and support by the VWSA group and the German government.

“This is a responsible investment to help our people during this time of need. The facility for now will give us 1,485 beds and when it is completed, it will give us 3,300 beds. The provincial government will operate and manage the hospital, provide medicine and personnel for this hospital until March 2021,” the office said.

On the schools’ readiness for reopening, the office said approximately 5,037 schools were declared ready for reopening while 67 are partially ready and 17 are not ready, according to the school readiness assessment report as of 19 June.

The office said at least 84 schools have not yet opened due to 14 of them not having access to water, while 34 have no functional ablution facilities and 34 have a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Two special schools from Alfred Nzo East did not have PPE for support staff. The department is working on this matter and will provide updated information,” it said.

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