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By Marvin Charles 
1 hour ago
Cape Town – The head of the province’s Health Department says a new variant of Covid-19, the discovery of which was announced last week, could explain the surge in infections in the Western Cape during the second wave of the pandemic.
Dr Keith Cloete said: “The announcement about the new variant explains the rapid increase in cases that we have seen on the Garden Route and now in the rest of the province.
“These rapid increases have put much more pressure on the public and private healthcare system compared to the first wave in June / July. The movement of tourists increases the risk of spreading the virus more quickly, ”said Cloete.
He said that public sector hospitals were under significant pressure and were operating at near full or full capacity.
“The strain is felt in intensive care, inpatient wards and in emergency centers,” he said.
On Sunday, the department announced that the 231 adult intensive care / ICU beds in hospitals were fluctuating from 80 to 100% of total daily capacity (technically full), putting enormous pressure on the capacity of all facilities.
136 additional Covid-19 adult ICU beds were made available, bringing the combined ICU / intensive care beds to 367. As of Friday, there were 2,032 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, of which 287 were in hospital. ICU / intensive care.
The Acting Director of the North Tygerberg Sub-district, Leilah Najjaar, said: “This virus is everywhere, not just in the aforementioned areas where there are worrisome outbreaks. Our hospitals are under pressure from both the public and private sectors. We are doing everything we can to fight this pandemic and keep our communities safe. We call on all residents to help us stop the spread of the virus by following the rules and avoiding closed and crowded spaces. Remember to wear your mask, wash your hands, stay home when you are sick, and keep 1.5m away from others. “
MediClinic announced that it had implemented a series of measures to increase the capacity to help the growing number of patients who come for care.
In a statement, the private hospital group said: “This dramatic increase in numbers in the Western Cape has put great pressure on available healthcare resources, including the staff, equipment and beds available to provide intensive treatment to seriously ill patients “.
Last week, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced that South African scientists had identified a variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
The variant is a version of the Covid-19 virus. The KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform identified the virus variant after sequencing hundreds of virus samples and noting that this particular variant had been dominating the findings from collected samples over the past two months.
Doctors also noted that younger patients without comorbidities had presented with critical illness.
Professor Ian Sanne, member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC), said: “Our ICU and clinical colleagues are surprised by the number of patients in the 15-25 age group who need hospitalization and ventilation; young people are not less at risk than older generations.
“We call on young people to protect themselves and their families from Covid-19. The variant itself has not been shown to be worse than the disease, but we are extremely concerned about the health care system. “
Youth leaders from political branches and activists have urged young people to be cautious this holiday season.
ANC Youth League activist Muhammed Khalid Sayed said: “The province’s Youth League is really concerned about the news of the Covid-19 variant, which puts young people at greater risk because, at this time, Many young people are acting sadly in a very carefree and selfish way, undermining safety regulations with the thought that this virus only affects the elderly. We hope this latest event will act as a serious wake-up call for young people, especially during the holiday period ”.
DA Youth Leader Carl Pophaim said: “Now, more than ever, young people must take the lead in the fight against Covid-19 and prevent its infection and transmission. Our future is at stake. The lives of so many residents and the livelihood of so many families. Now is the time to repeatedly mask, disinfect and social distancing to stop Covid-19 in its tracks. “
South African Communist Youth League spokesperson Dloze Matooane said: “We are extremely concerned about the second wave and the fact that the second wave is taking hold among the youth. We have tried to analyze what led to the spread of the virus among young people and the reason for this is due to non-compliance with the regulations and the parties that are taking place ”.
Youth activist Zukile Ntentema said: “This is a time when young people should be patriotic and make sure they follow the basic guidelines of avoiding being in public spaces, washing their hands regularly and wearing a mask. We always say that we are the future, it is time for us therefore to protect that future by following Covid-19 regulations when we are young. “
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