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Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winds.
Malherbe Nienaber / Netwerk24
- Prime Minister Alan Winde has confirmed that there is an established resurgence of Covid-19 in the Western Cape.
- According to the province’s Covid-19 dashboard, 993 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
- Of the 125,369 cases accumulated in the province, 7,241 are active.
Prime Minister Alan Winde confirmed an established resurgence of Covid-19 in the Western Cape on Wednesday, after the province saw new cases spike by 52.1% over the past week alone.
“There is also established community transmission of the virus again in this province, which means that it is spreading within communities at a faster rate. This growth is primarily driven by two districts in the Western Cape: Garden Route and Cape Metro,” he said.
“Last week, we issued a hotspot alert for Garden Route, following an alarming increase in cases in the area. This increase has continued to gain momentum and there are now more active cases in the George and Knysna sub-districts than anywhere else in the area. the pandemic to date. “
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Winde cautioned that the city of Cape Town was following a similar trajectory, although it appeared to be 10-14 days late.
“Therefore, we are also issuing a hotspot alert for the metro. It is important to note that the growth of cases in the City is being registered in all the sub-districts and is not being driven by any area. This is verified by wastewater treatment tests, “he said.
“While the growth in cases across the province has been driven primarily by these two districts, we are also concerned about the Cape Winelands, which is starting to register a worrying number of new cases.”
According to the province’s Covid-19 dashboard, 993 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
Active
Of the 125,369 cases accumulated in the province, 7,241 are active; 114,145 people have recovered, while 4,573 have died.
Winde said 54 people have been hospitalized in just the last 24 hours.
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“Hospitalizations reached a low of less than 500 in September, and as of yesterday reached 904. There are currently 431 people in public hospitals and 473 in private hospitals in the Western Cape,” he said.
“Our Brackengate Hospital of Hope went from having just a few patients in September to 109 today. In fact, since the beginning of November, hospitalizations for Covid-19 across the province have increased by 63%. The private sector has increased by 94%, while the public sector has increased by 39%.
“Intensive care admissions have increased by 75% since the beginning of November. This is particularly concerning as an admission to an intensive care unit is an indication of a serious illness that could lead to death.”
Winde said she wanted to avoid a decline in key health services, as well as another lockdown, because the economy “just can’t afford it.”
“Therefore, there is only one option available to all of us. We have to control the situation through our own actions. We have to do everything we can to ensure that we are not infected by Covid-19 and that we do not spread Covid-19.” .
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Winde said the province, through its Joint Disaster Operations Center (JOC), would be “dramatically increasing the high visibility enforcement” of Covid-19 regulations to help slow the spread of the virus.
“The JOC, which has links to local joint operations centers throughout the province, is in the best position to coordinate law enforcement. It has a direct link to the SAPS, as well as to law enforcement officials and environmental issues in the Western Cape, “he said.
