948 people in strict quarantine as Covid-19 ‘peaks’ in Western Cape

Almost 1 000 Western Cape residents are in quarantine, Premier Alan Winde announced on Wednesday.

The province has 41 quarantine and isolation facilities – comprising both public and private facilities – housing 948 people.

Transport to and from these sites has been provided by the Red Dot transport service which the provincial government pioneered. It consists of a 100-strong fleet of specially sterilised minibus taxis.

Winde said some people who might have had contact with someone who was Covid-19 positive – and who needed to be quarantined – have refused to be quarantined.

“The reasons vary and include concerns about leaving family members and children behind, concern that their homes would be broken into and their building materials stripped or stolen, and even the inability to drink alcohol, smoke or have visitors while in the facilities.

“We are working closely with community organisations and religious leaders in areas where we are seeing high rejection rates of quarantine and isolation in order to ensure that some of these community concerns can be addressed.”

He added the Western Cape had recorded an additional 65 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of Covid-19-related deaths to 1,565 in the province.

Winde said the province’s Economic Development Partnership had been tasked with helping to coordinate food relief, across civil society, in partnership with the City of Cape Town.

The humanitarian campaign to feed the hungry also scored a valuable goal on Wednesday after Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis received donations from Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato.

Plato said his office had supplied more than 80 soup kitchens across the metro with equipment and ingredients. And a new recipient was the humanitarian effort by Ellis.

Her foundation has partnered with The Alcardo Andrews Foundation, which feeds between 400 and 600 cooked meals daily, as well as distributing packed meals in Hanover Park which was received from a boutique hotel in the city.

“The donation from the City of Cape Town is a great help because we currently utilise our own resources such as electricity and sometimes our own ingredients. The equipment will help us to expand our outreach to residents and fill more empty stomachs,” Ellis said

“As a result of the severe impact of the national coronavirus lockdown, many residents have struggled to put food on the table. Despite the move to alert level 3 opening up more economic sectors, the need for assistance remains.

“We must continue to strengthen our support and compassion for our fellow residents. These donations are intended to assist organisations feeding residents in need and, as a caring city, we are doing all we can to help residents,” said Plato.

He added food relief “is the direct responsibility of national government, through the SA Social Security Agency”, but the City of Cape Town was attempting “to fill the gaps, capacitating neighbourhood soup kitchens to feed hundreds of residents in their various communities”.

“Supplies to an additional four soup kitchens based in Mitchells Plain have also been provided. Recipient organisations in Mitchells Plain are the Tafelsig Community Uplifting Forum, Community Outreach in Morgan Village, Women to Youth Outreach Project in Eastridge and Amazing Ants in Rocklands,” Plato’s office said.

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