Zikalala ‘deeply concerned’ as KZN enters third wave

Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Sihle Zikalala said on Sunday that he is “deeply concerned” that KwaZulu-Natal has entered Covid-19 third wave.

Speaking during a media briefing, the provincial premier said they had been advised by medical experts that KZN is well and truly in the third wave.

“The province has for the past three consecutive days, recorded more than 3000 new cases, and is reporting the second-highest number of daily confirmed cases. Our third wave appears to be due to the sustained increase in the rate of new infections,” he said.

The high number of new Covid-19 cases has largely been blamed on the recent mass gatherings during the protests and looting in July.

An increase in interprovincial travel and large gatherings at pubs and restaurants were also contributed to the increasing number of cases.

RELATED: KZN declares state of disaster following violence, looting

“We have also noted an increase in cluster cases, with schools emerging as the biggest contributor in this regard. In fact, more than 120 schools have reported clusters in their school settings; and more than 800 learners and teachers have been affected.”

Teachers only made up five per cent of the total cases, whilst 95 per cent were from learners.

In the last 24 hours, KZN registered 3,445 and has the third-highest confirmed cases behind Western Cape and Gauteng.

The number of hospitalisation in both the public and private health facilities is “extremely high occupancy rates in ICU beds,” Zikalala added.

Alarming, the province also noted a 16 per cent increase in the number of deaths as compared to the week before.

Around the end of July, acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said early indications showed that South Africa had passed the peak of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

RELATED: SA passed peak of Covid-19 third wave – Kubayi-Ngubane

As of Saturday, 14 August South Africa recorded 13, 021 new Covid-19 cases and 238 deaths.

Complied by Sandisiwe Mbhele