120 out of 325 virus hospital admissions in WC are in ICU or high care

As of Thursday, 120 out of the 325 hospital admissions in the Western Cape were in ICU or high care, the provincial government said in a statement.

In addition, the province has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases (7,220), of which 4,518 are active and 2,573 are recoveries.

It has also recorded 77,310 tests and 129 deaths after the province recorded an additional 12 Covid-19-related deaths.

The sub-district with the highest number of cases at 1,193 is Tygerberg with 358 recoveries, followed by Khayelitsha with 966 cases and 340 recoveries, and Klipfontein with 865 cases and 260 recoveries.

Remaining sub-districts in the Cape Town metro:

Western: 857 cases and 420 recoveries.

Southern: 673 cases and 267 recoveries.

Northern: 489 cases and 160 recoveries.

Eastern: 747 cases and 263 recoveries.

Mitchells Plain: 697 cases and 206 recoveries.

Khayelitsha: 966 cases and 340 recoveries.

The Western Cape government said it had activated an emergency feeding programme for pupils in the province between 6 and 10 April.

“As a result, we have been able to serve 1.2 million take-away meals to children across the province, serving an average of 65 000 children each day for the two days per week of feeding,” Premier Alan Winde said.

Winde further reiterated his intention to use the consultation process by President Cyril Ramaphosa to indicate the province should move to level 3.

This after Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday evening that parts of the country would be moving to level 3 of the risk-adjusted strategy – which aims to open up the economy while managing the spread of the virus – at the end of May.

“Opening up the economy further must, however, be done with care and with careful planning. It is for this reason that we have developed clear protocols for businesses and specific industries aimed at reducing the risk of workplace infection.

“We will all still need to practice good hygiene practices like regular hand-washing, coughing into a tissue or the crook of the arm, and physical distancing while wearing a clean, cloth mask,” Winde said.

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