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The premier of Gauteng says there are clear signs of emerging Covid-19 hotspots in the township, adding that the geography of the virus in the province has begun to change.
“Even if you have 40 cases in the township, it is a lot as transmission can happen very quickly if there are no interventions.
“Case numbers are still low, but we are concerned about vulnerable areas, like the townships and informal settlements. These numbers can multiply in the shortest space of time if there is no social distancing,” Premier David Makhura said at a virtual briefing on Thursday .
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This comes as the province recorded 2,074 cases, 1,547 recoveries and 24 deaths as of Thursday.
The City of Johannesburg remains the epicenter in Gauteng with 1,124 cases and 948 recoveries.
Areas
Of this, the E sub-district in Johannesburg – which consists of Alexandra, Wynberg, Sandton, Orange Grove and Houghton – has the highest statistics, with 287 cases.
However, the premier noted that during the early stages of the virus in Gauteng, the province identified OR Tambo International Airport, Centurion, Sandton / Fourways and Bedfordview as hotspots.
“These were the areas where we deployed tracing teams to track down all contacts and ensure that those who are positive and their contacts are in isolation and quarantine,” Makhura said.
The premier said the geography of Covid-19 hotspots was constantly changing, noting that infections after April showed that the profile of the spread had changed dramatically.
“There are now clear signs of emerging hotspots in the townships: Soweto, Orange Farm, Alex, Kathorus, KwaThema, Tembisa, Ivory Park, Soshanguve, Ennerdale, Vanderbijlpark, Pretoria West and Houghton / Yeoville,” I added.
Although the sub-district breakdown in the province shows that the townships have fairly low numbers, the premier raised the concern that these low figures “are too much” because the virus can multiply in vulnerable areas.
Hotspots
“The emerging hotspots are where large numbers of people live.
“If we have 40 cases in Soshanguve, it is 40 cases too much as those cases can multiply given the vulnerability of the area,” he said.
To date, out of a total of 9,815 contracts traced in the province, 7,992 people have completed the 14-day monitoring period with no symptoms and were subsequently released from isolation.
In addition, 48 people are currently hospitalized in public and private facilities across the province.
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