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South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says the government will use its ‘Covid-19 resurgence action plan’ to help mitigate cluster outbreaks seen in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, which have caused a increase in national cases in the last two weeks.
The plan includes increased surveillance in areas where cluster outbreaks are observed, allowing the government to treat cases at the district and sub-district level, he said.
It also calls for expanded resources in affected areas for Covid-19 testing and contact tracing, as well as for quarantine and isolation facilities, Mkhize said at a press conference on Sunday (November 15).
The government defines a Covid-19 resurgence as a 20% increase in the average incidence of cases using a seven-day moving average within a defined geographic area.
Some parts of the Eastern Cape and Western Cape are currently experiencing a notable increase in the number of positive Covid-19 cases, in some cases due to ‘over-broadcast’ events such as college parties, the Health Minister said.
“The numbers started to increase when we were at Level 4 (of the national lockdown), but even more when we were at Level 3, that’s when we experienced the increase from June to July.
“We did indicate that our predictions were that we were going to have an increase, but with lower numbers,” he said.
Mkhize said that at no point during the pandemic was the country without beds, oxygen or ventilators. At its peak, the country reported a maximum of 13,000 positive tests in a 24-hour period.
“But then everything went down until August 30. That plateau has lasted until the last two weeks. We went down to about 1,000 cases per day, but recently we started to regress to 2,000 positive cases per day, “he said.
Hotspot zones
Mkhize said there is an “indication” that the numbers are increasing in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
“These are areas that we are now seeing that indicate an increase in activities. These two entered the first wave, entered a plateau, and now show new activity.
“We still cannot say that this is a new increase. We are looking at these areas and it is important for us to share with our fellow South Africans. “
South Africa was once ranked fifth globally for its cumulative number of Covid-19 cases, but has since dropped to 15th.
“It is important for us to take note that this pandemic is a very dynamic situation that continues to change in different countries.
“It is important to adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as wearing masks, frequent hand washing or sanitizing, and practicing social distancing. We need sustained behavior change, ”Mkhize said.
“We cannot say that the second wave has arrived. We are seeing cluster activities increasing positives in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. It can still be contained, and if it’s contained it can actually be removed. “
Alcohol ban
Dr. Mkhize said that if South Africans continue to wear masks, disinfectants maintain a social distance and limit the number in various activities, “we can contain this (spread of Covid-19) and delay it much longer, without many more restrictions than what. they already exist. ”.
Mkhize said that alcohol has a negative contribution to various aspects of our lives and the general health of the population.
During the lockdown, the sale of alcohol was banned to free up hospital beds and make it easier for health workers to focus on Covid-19-related cases.
The Health Minister pointed to the difficulties surrounding alcohol prohibition in a democratic country, noting that the government needed scientific evidence in court to enforce the prohibition previously.
“Our approach would be, we do not yet have, the basis on which to apply the same restrictions that we have done before. “We will play it by ear.”
“Whenever a situation arises that requires certain restrictions, the government will not hesitate to bring them. We are not at that level, ”he said.
As of November 14, there was a cumulative total of 749,182 cases registered in the country. A total of 20,206 people have died, while 92.5% of those infected have recovered.
Read: District Lock Restrictions On Cards As South African Access Points Face Coronavirus Spike
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