Daily Covid-19 update: 274 more deaths as second wave rolls on

As of Friday, the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases stands at 901 538. This is 8 725 new cases in the past 24 hours.

“A cumulative total of 6 051 986 tests have been completed with 40 751 new tests conducted since the last report,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement.

“Regrettably, in the last 24 hours, 274 deaths have been reported: Eastern Cape 92, Free State 6, Gauteng 15, KwaZulu-Natal 56, Mpumalanga 4 and Western Cape 101. This brings the total deaths to 24 285.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health workers that treated the deceased,” he added.

Recoveries now stand at 783 818.

Western Cape hospitals face crisis as DA fights to open hotspot beaches

As the DA gears up to challenge Garden Route beach closures in the Western Cape High Court, the province’s health system is nearing a crisis with ICU bed availability in some hospitals close to full occupancy, and private patients being moved to state hospitals.

The province has entered its second wave of Covid-19 with daily infection numbers surging higher than has ever been seen in the pandemic. Hospitals are reaching the point of being overwhelmed.

Private hospitals in popular Garden Route holiday spots such as Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, and Mossel Bay are near full capacity, with reports of a lack of ventilators for critical Covid-19 patients in the area.

Patients have been airlifted to Cape Town because of a lack of ICU bed capacity.

But some City hospitals have also reached maximum capacity, with private patients being moved to Karl Bremer Hospital, a government hospital, in Bellville.

According to data released by the Western Cape Department of Health on Tuesday, a marked increase in Covid-19 cases had pushed infection numbers well beyond the peak of the first wave.

As a result of this resurgence, hospitals in the Cape Town Metropole were running at an average occupancy rate of 78%, while rural hospitals are running at an average occupancy rate of 91%.

“Covid and PUI (patients awaiting Covid-19 test results) cases make up 13% of hospital admissions in the metro and 16% of hospital admissions in the rural areas with both increasing daily.

“The key message is that hospitalisations are rapidly headed toward levels seen at the peak of the first wave. We must also be mindful that this time, we do not have the protection of a lockdown or an alcohol ban,” the department said.

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