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Prime Minister Alan Winde said Thursday that he will “clarify” his provincial government’s position that the Western Cape should move to Level 3 blockade restrictions as soon as possible.
This despite the fact that the province is home to 55.6% of the total number of positive Covid-19 cases in the country.
According to provincial government statistics on its Covid-19 dashboard on Wednesday, the Western Cape has 6,767 confirmed cases.
Of that, 117 people have died.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was scheduled to visit the Western Cape on Friday, but this was postponed after Winde was quarantined after contacting eNCA cameraman Lungile Tom, who died of Covid-19 on Wednesday morning. .
“With our healthcare system in place, it is simply no longer possible to maintain Tier 4 restrictions anywhere in the Western Cape or South Africa,” it said in a statement.
“The economic crisis caused by these restrictions has resulted in a life-threatening humanitarian disaster that will only worsen in the coming months.”
Winde said the province had adopted an evidence-based and data-based approach to its Covid-19 response, with targeted interventions at critical points.
“These hotspots are not entire provinces or even districts. They are geographic areas where people live, down to street level.”
This plan was also presented to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Saturday and has already been adopted by his cabinet, Winde said.
“This ‘government-wide’ approach uses the combined impact of our respective governments and enforcement agencies, with the sole objective of stemming the spread and protecting vulnerable groups of people who are at high risk. We welcome this hotspot plan now has also been adopted by the national government, as revealed by the president [on Wednesday night].
“This focused government effort, in partnership with the private sector and all people, will help us curb the spread and save lives, while enabling increased economic activity and protecting the livelihoods of our poor and vulnerable residents.”
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