Important points not considered in conversation of WC as Covid-19 ‘epicentre’ – premier
In a series of tweets posted on 2 May, the premier explained the number of confirmed lab cases in the province exceeded those of the other provinces, resulting in the Western Cape being referred to as the 'epicentre' of the pandemic.
Premier Alan Winde has raised concern over the conversation of the Western Cape as being the ‘epicentre’ of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa, saying certain ‘important points’ are not considered.
In a series of tweets posted on 2 May, Winde explained the coverage on the Western Cape being described as the ‘epicentre’ of the pandemic was a result of the number of confirmed lab cases in the province which exceeds those of the other provinces.
He explained, “Our government would be extremely worried if the number of laboratory confirmed cases in the Western Cape were not growing, because it would mean our systems are not working in identifying every person who is Covid-19 positive.”
The premier described how the province was testing for Covid-19. “The Western Cape government has adopted a much more rigorous approach toward actively locating cases, tracking and tracing contacts and conducting targeted screening and testing in identified clusters,” said Winde.
“Epidemiological evidence tells us where the cluster transmissions are taking place, and this is where we relentlessly train our focus. This means the Western Cape has a far higher success rate in locating and fighting the ‘bushfires’. The Western Cape has not adopted a ‘spray-gun’ approach where we test randomly. This is not a good use of resources.
“When someone screens positively, they are then referred for testing. This means that for every series of tests, we receive a higher proportion of positives.”
1/3 There's been increased coverage of the WC as the “epicentre” of the pandemic due to the number of confirmed lab cases in the province exceeding those of other provinces. We believe this “epicentre” conversation has failed to take into consideration important points. pic.twitter.com/aZmZjJLF7W
— Premier Alan Winde 🇿🇦 (@alanwinde) May 2, 2020
Winde added that the Western Cape government’s strategy was to identify and test anyone suspected of having contracted Covid-19. This is then confirmed in a laboratory.
“This allows us to ensure that the person isolates and that we can trace the contacts of this person to start the process all over again,” said Winde.
“This is how you ‘flatten the curve’.”
2/3 The data that is reported on& submitted nationally is laboratory confirmed positive cases. While we cannot speak for the strategies of other provinces,our strategy is to identify and test every person who we suspect of being Covid-19 positive&to confirm this in a laboratory. pic.twitter.com/9aJYq1pPv6
— Premier Alan Winde 🇿🇦 (@alanwinde) May 2, 2020
He further said full transparency of the data collected through rigorous testing should be encouraged.
“The reality is, as our national government pointed out, the peak is still to come and it is not avoidable. The lockdown has allowed us time to prepare, but many, many people are going to be infected across the country,” tweeted Winde.
“We need to identify and test every person who does and should therefore expect the number of laboratory confirmed cases to rise.”
3/3 Lastly, we should at all times be encouraging full transparency of data collected through a rigorous and targeted testing regime, now more than ever. pic.twitter.com/BSJ0EDhV7F
— Premier Alan Winde 🇿🇦 (@alanwinde) May 2, 2020
Winde tweeted that as of 1pm on 4 May, 3 451 confirmed Covid-19 cases had been recorded in the Western Cape.
Media Release: Update on the Coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde
4 May 2020As of 1pm on 4 May, the Western Cape has recorded 3451 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection.https://t.co/x8kswBnyEm pic.twitter.com/E70VIE4icM
— Premier Alan Winde 🇿🇦 (@alanwinde) May 4, 2020
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