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Outbreaks among essential workers have led the Western Cape to overtake Gauteng as the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa, while funerals and an outbreak in the correctional services system raised the figures for the Eastern Cape.
This is according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, who had a virtual meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Health Portfolio and the Select Committee on Health and Social Services on Monday morning.
“We are seeing changes in the outbreak on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “When we started with the outbreak, Gauteng province was the highest, things have changed with the Western Cape, now the epicenter.”
He said there has been a change in the pattern.
“The pattern we are seeing is happening in workplaces that were originally identified as essential services.
“It seems we need to find additional support to strengthen the province’s response in that area.”
He said he has been in contact with Moma Nomafrench Mbombo of Western Cape Health and that he will visit the province again soon.
“We are going to increase the number of kits that will go to the Western Cape,” he said.
“We will also work closely with the doctors who treat patients to see what care they need, we will get them their PPE (personal protective equipment).”
He said that more specialists, including those who arrived from Cuba on Monday, will be sent to the province. He added that his department will work with the provincial department on planning.
Eastern Cape infections have skyrocketed
Mkhize said he is concerned that the Free State has been overtaken by the Eastern Cape in terms of infections.
He added that in the Free State the pattern was based on one incident: a large church meeting where many people became infected.
“That has been contained for the past few weeks. The numbers have been stable at around 110, 104.”
He said infections from the Eastern Cape have “skyrocketed” since then.
“If you look at the Eastern Cape, the outbreak is due to social gatherings, primarily funerals. And then, of course, it happened in the area of correctional services.”
“Now we will analyze the distribution of specialists who come from Cuba so that it can reinforce some of the places we are dealing with.”
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