Western Cape using 60% of its oxygen supply in hospitals

As of 14 July, with Covid-19 cases still on the rise, the Western Cape is only using approximately 60% of its available oxygen supply, the province’s premier, Alan Winde, revealed.

In his daily Covid-19 update on Tuesday, Winde said the province had recorded a total of 79 332 confirmed cases of the virus.

Of the total cases recorded, the Western Cape has 61 756 recoveries and 2 416 deaths, which translates 15 160 active cases.

Of the active cases, 1 636 patients are hospitalised, with 300 of those in intensive care or high care units.

“The Western Cape is currently using approximately 29 tonnes of medical grade oxygen in our facilities daily, with the biggest consumption occurring at Tygerberg and Groote Schuur hospitals,” Winde said.

“We are currently using approximately 60 percent of the available oxygen supply, so have sufficient supply margins available in the province.

“Before the start of the pandemic, the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town put measures in place to ensure that the facility where medical grade oxygen is manufactured in the province is not impacted by load shedding.

“It is especially important during this pandemic to ensure that production interruptions do not occur”.

Health update

Winde also gave an update on his health after he tested positive for Covid-19 on 8 July.

The premier went into self-isolation last week after receiving his result and revealed that he is a type 2 diabetic and over the age of 55, putting him at a higher risk of having a more severe form of the virus.

“I have been following the advice of my doctor and have been resting at home as much as possible,” Winde said in a statement on Tuesday.

“I am feeling significantly better today, and both my blood sugar levels and my temperature are down. I am still isolating at home and taking all the necessary precautions because I fall into a high risk group.

“It is incredibly important that if you are a diabetic, you take all measures possible to protect yourself from contracting Covid-19.

“The most effective way to do this is to stay home as much as possible, and to ensure that you take extra care when leaving home – including regular hand washing, wearing a mask and social distancing”.

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