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By IOL 
2h ago
Cape Town: Hospitals in the Western Cape and Gauteng have reported a “significant reduction” in trauma cases this New Year’s Eve.
This comes after the festivities were severely restricted by a 9 p.m. curfew and a ban on the sale of alcohol as part of the tight Level 3 lockdown announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“Although many of our emergency centers were dealing with Covid-19 cases, trauma emergencies were significantly reduced in public hospitals, both in Cape Metro and in rural districts,” the Western Cape Government Health spokeswoman said Friday. , Marika Champion.
“Most of our facilities report a much quieter New Years Eve today than usual. We’re still colliding numbers, but reports indicate a significant drop in trauma cases (these include motor vehicle crashes and violent trauma cases that typically accompany the holidays).
“Injury cases are often time consuming and labor intensive. This reduction helped us cope with the significant burden of Covid-19 cases in our hospitals, ”said Champion.
“We are grateful to the public for heeding our call. It underlines the importance of behavior change to face the impact of the pandemic on our health service “
In Gauteng, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital said it had no patients in its trauma rescue area on New Year’s Eve.
“It is the first in the history of the hospital’s trauma rescue area to have no patients on the 1st of the New Year,” the hospital posted on its Facebook page showing images of empty beds.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday that the country would enter a tight level 3 lockdown to curb the second wave of Covid-19. The restrictions included a 9 p.m. curfew and a ban on the sale of alcohol.
Ramaphosa said in his address to the nation that alcohol consumption in restaurants, nightclubs and taverns had contributed to risky behaviors such as not wearing masks and not observing social distancing.
“Excessive alcohol consumption is also increasing the number of trauma cases in our hospitals.
“According to the data we have, with each relaxation of restrictions on the sale of alcohol, the number of trauma cases reported in our hospitals has increased.
“These trauma cases are putting unnecessary pressure on our already overstretched public health facilities.” said the president.
South Africa on New Year’s Eve surpassed the mark of 18,000 new daily cases of Covid-19 for the first time, while 436 more deaths related to Covid-19 were reported.
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