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- Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winde says the provinceThe focus during the hard lock had been to flatten the curve.
- The province’s health chief said there was a risk of a second wave and that he was preparing accordingly.
- Since food safety remains an issue during the shutdown, Winde said it should make sure no one goes hungry.
The country remains at significant risk of a second wave of Covid-19 cases, according to Western Cape Health Chief Dr. Keith Cloete.
On Thursday, Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winde held a digital press conference with his MECs and Cloete following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of easing of lockdown restrictions.
Speaking about the province’s goal during the tough lockdown, he said the focus had been to flatten the curve.
“We wanted our peak to look like Table Mountain.”
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Winde added that some of the things that stood out for him were government innovation, such as the Red Dot taxi system and the new drug delivery intervention to people’s homes.
Medicine
“You no longer have to wake up at 04:00 in the morning to look for your medicine, but it will be delivered to your door,” he added.
However, Cloete said that while South Africa might be at Tier 1, that doesn’t mean the country is out of the woods.
“Based on international experience, the risk of having a second wave in South Africa is significant. It is high and we are preparing as if we were having the second wave,” he added.
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Speaking on the subject of food security, the head of the Social Development department, Robert McDonald, said they received a research report from Stellenbosch University that mapped the impact of hunger during the shutdown.
“What they found is a very strong increase in hunger, even with the reduced closure of June, we still saw levels of food security at least twice as high as in other years,” he added.
In closing, Winde stressed that food safety is about dignity.
“We need to make sure that no one in the province goes hungry while we recover.”
