Reverting to lockdown level five restrictions is not currently being considered, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde confirmed on Saturday. While level five regulations remained a strategic option in the curbing of the virus, it is not currently on the table.
Winde, joined by the Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize and Health MEC, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo spoke in an update briefing today, discussing the province’s response to the rapidly increasing Covid-19 infection rate.
The 4 809 Covid-19 positive cases in the province constitute close to half of all positive cases recorded in the country, which was a huge concern, Mkhize stated: “The outbreak in the province has moved faster than we had anticipated”.
Focusing on the infection rate among health workers, he said it remained crucial that workers are properly trained and informed and that government was doing its best to ensure the availability of Personal Protective Equipment. He also urged health workers to get vaccinated against flu. “Winter is coming, and we need those who work on the frontlines to be protected.”
Mkhize said he was satisfied with the Covid-19 response presentation he received from the Western Cape Government, which he said was scientific and clinically-based.
Referring to a comparison between the infection rate of the Western Cape and other provinces, Mkhize said the major difference was the prevalence of cluster outbreaks in the province. This type of outbreaks refers to an aggregation of cases group in place and time that are suspected to be greater than the expected number in an area.
In this regard, Mkhize said there is a need for tighter restrictions in areas where the infection rate is higher: “We will take a differentiated approach in the relaxation of regulations around the return to normal activities.” He said strategies were in place to deal with the situation, and that testing capability in the country has seen between 10 000 and 12 000 people tested per day in recent days.
The availability of test kits remained challenging in both the public and private sector, as these were currently in huge demand across the world. The strategies furthermore include the setting up of field hospitals, and the quarantining of traceable contacts of Covid-19 positive patients. “While many of these contacts may be asymptomatic, they may infect others. We need to break the possible link of infection by taking people out of their communities.”
Adding to this, the premier said that the Western Cape Government had met with business, law enforcement and even onward level, to see how best behavioural change could be implemented in the communities. “We need to reduce congestion to slow down the infection rate.”
Mkhize identified Cape Town as a hotspot for Covid-19, adding that this was a trend in all major metropolitan areas in the country. The minister also announced the latest Covid-19 figures: Eight more deaths were recorded bringing the total to 186, while a total of 324 079 tests have been conducted.
South African is slowly nearing the 10 000-mark, with 9 420 positive cases recorded.
Provincial figures:
Eastern Cape: 1078
Free State: 134
Gauteng: 1910
KwaZulu-Natal: 1308
Limpopo: 51
Mpumalanga: 61
North West: 41
Northern Cape: 28
Western Cape: 4 809
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