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The Prime Minister of the Eastern Cape, Oscar Mabuyane. Image: Lubabalo Ngcukana / City Press
NEWS
The Eastern Cape provincial government has asked its citizens not to let their guard down, even as there are reports of a decline in Covid-19 cases in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro and Sarah Baartman district township.
Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha, a spokesman for Eastern Cape Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane, said that when infections in Nelson Mandela Bay and Sarah Baartman started to increase, the provincial government focused on mitigation efforts in these areas to contain the virus and reduce the transmission rate.
Sicwetsha said the efforts were beginning to pay off, but cautioned against complacency.
The reduced number of Covid-19 cases in the two areas is a welcome relief, especially after reports that the virus has mutated and a new strain has since been the driving force behind the second wave of infections spreading. through the Eastern Cape and the rest of the country.
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“We see evidence from data showing that the number of new infections in these two municipal areas that have been declared hotspots is decreasing. While this is good news, we want to warn the people of the province, especially in these two municipalities, that we are not out of the woods yet.
“Covid-19 is still with us, and we must be careful in adhering to infection control protocols of wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, washing hands and disinfecting them regularly.”
“These infection control measures are essential for all of us to adhere to because they will protect us and our loved ones from infection. We must continue with them to protect ourselves from the new strain announced by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, ”Sicwetsha said.
While there is a decrease in Covid-19 cases in Nelson Mandela Bay and Sarah Baartman, there have been some significant increases in other parts of the province.
An increase of more than 20% in the number of new cases was observed in the districts of Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi and OR Tambo.
Buffalo City Metro and Amathole District reported an increase of less than 20% in the number of new cases.
Mabuyane will brief the media on Tuesday on a Covid-19 resurgence plan, Sicwetsha said.
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“Our data at the moment is that we have 157,209 positive cases, 135,876 recoveries, 6,050 deaths and 15,283 active cases in the province. The provincial recovery rate is 86.4%, and Joe Gqabi and the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro report a recovery rate of over 90%.
“We are concerned that the number of deaths increased significantly in November and December. That is why we are encouraging the people of our province to comply with infection control measures, respect the regulations established to prevent the spread of this virus, ”said Sicwetsha.
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