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Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winds.
Malherbe Nienaber / Netwerk24
- In the Western Cape, Covid-19 numbers continue to fall.
- The latest analyzes show that people in some parts of the province may have developed immunity to the virus.
- The provincial authorities called for a greater openness of the economy, according to the latest figures, with continued strict surveillance.
The Western Cape government wants to “open up the economy even further” after the latest statistics show that “the epidemic is subsiding” in the province.
And in parts of the Western Cape, part of the population may now have immunity against Covid-19, the disease that results from the coronavirus.
These were announced at Premier Alan Winde’s weekly “digicon” online press conference on Thursday.
“We cannot say with certainty that we have achieved herd immunity,” said Professor Mary-Ann Davies, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Research at the University of Cape Town.
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But, in some pockets, the health authorities had detected “a high proportion” of people who had probably developed immunity against Covid-19.
Initial antibody tests, conducted by the province, indicated that “especially in the poorest communities, a relatively high proportion have been exposed to a person infected with Covid-19.”
Vulnerable
However, the other side of the coin was that it is possible that there are still groups of people or communities that have not been exposed to the coronavirus and therefore may remain vulnerable to it, the digicon heard.
The “permanent surveillance” of these communities, in particular, was essential.
Significant surveillance for Covid-19 would be maintained for the next 18 to 24 months.
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The head of the provincial health department, Dr. Keith Cloete, said that health authorities now “know how to respond”, in the event of an outbreak in the Covid-19 cases.
That said, Cloete said that the provincial government is now “encouraging the opening up of the economy and movement.”
But this was on the condition that the population practiced safety: universal use of masks, relentless hand washing, and social distancing. Cloete advised “an arm’s length” as a simple distance for each person to practice, especially in tight spaces like elevators, supermarkets, and restaurants.
On the subject of a much-discussed “second wave,” he said it was “almost impossible” to predict whether there would be a resurgence, or its timing, location or magnitude. Or even if such a “second wave” would be precisely the same version of the coronavirus with the same genetic code.
Daily infections were now at around 10% of their peak.
