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A nurse performs a smear test for Covid-19 in Johannesburg.
PHOTO: Michele Spartari, AFP
- Another 3,313 cases of Covid-19 have been reported as the country prepares for a second wave.
- Forty-three more deaths related to Covid-19 were also reported.
- This after two festivals and a party were identified as an addition to the new groups.
The Health Department reported another 3,313 Covid-19 cases on Monday after a hectic weekend in which it emerged that a group was linked to the annual post-matrix festival Rage held in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal.
Forty-three more deaths related to Covid-19 were also reported.
Twenty-six of the 42 people who died were in the Western Cape, which is managing a resurgence on the Garden Route and closely monitoring the increase in positive cases in the Cape metro.
Meanwhile, George Township is mourning the death of one of its own on Monday after its longest-serving staff member Jusiah Phillips Dikela (aka Oom Gert) died Sunday of Covid-related symptoms. -19.
He is the fourth member of municipal staff to succumb to the virus.
Dikela had had to drop out of school to get a job that would allow her to support her family, and she eventually started working in the municipality. He was credited with knowing “everything there was to know” about George’s groundwater and sewer lines.
READ | Durban super-spreader events could cause cluster outbreaks, experts warn
Acting City Manager Steven Erasmus said the municipality was saddened by the loss and expressed its condolences to his loved ones.
“We will miss his friendly demeanor and honor him and his family for the time and commitment he had to his work and George’s people,” Erasmus added.
A total of 19,252 tests have been conducted since Sunday’s Covid-19 report.
On Sunday, the report showed that there were 4,116 new cases and 139 deaths.
On Saturday 4,645 new cases were reported and 104 deaths were recorded.
In addition to the Ballito Rage-related cases confirmed by the Department of Health, the Western Cape local government MEC, Anton Bredell, stated that other possible “superpreaders” events such as the Cooler Box Festival in Ladismith in the Central Karoo, had been identified. and a matrix party in Knysna.
“This is not the time for big parties no matter the reason. If we want to have a safe and happy holiday season, it is critical to keep our guard up and be responsible,” he said in a statement. A total of 22,249 people are confirmed to have died as a result of Covid-19 in the country.
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