30 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the West Rand

The Gauteng Department of Health announced that as of today, 12 April, there are 813 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Gauteng.

The breakdown per district is as follows:

• Johannesburg – 467
• Tshwane – 92
• West Rand – 30
• Sedibeng – 6
• Ekurhuleni – 141
• Unallocated cases – 77

There are three confirmed deaths due to Covid-19 in the Gauteng district.

The Gauteng Department of Health wishes to reiterate the message by Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, on the recommendation and usage of cloth masks for the general public.

Face masks are recommended as an addition to the golden rules of good hygiene and social distancing. Face masks should, however, never be promoted as a primary prevention strategy and should never be promoted seperately from hand washing and social distancing measures.

To ensure that N95 masks and surgical masks are secured for workers who really need them, the department of health would like to recommend that cloth face-masks should be used by the general population.

The department of health is satisfied that there is sufficient scientific evidence to show that the cloth face mask significantly reduces the amount of virus that can be emitted.

It is nevertheless important to observe basic rules of the use of cloth face masks to ensure that they are safe for use:

•    The face-mask must cover the nose and mouth completely.
•    Face-masks should not be lowered when speaking, coughing or sneezing.
•    Face-masks should never be touched – fidgeting with the mask repeatedly is strongly discouraged as it is important to avoid touching the face with hands. The inner side of the mask should not be touched by hands.
•    Wash hands before and after donning or removing the face-mask.
•    Wash cloth face-masks with warm soapy water and iron when dry. Ironing assists with decontamination
•    Change your cloth face mask if it is wet or visibly soiled
•    Each person will need to have at least 2 face-masks so that one face-mask is available when the other is being washed.

Here is an easy way to make your very own cloth face masks:

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