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The Western Cape government has requested that municipalities that are not Covid-19 hotspots and that only have one or two cases enter the Level 3 blockade.
Speaking during a virtual meeting of the provincial legislature, Prime Minister Alan Winde said the virus-related provincial “death rate” was 1.8% of cases, which was less than the previous 2%.
READ | Western Cape proposes to move to Level 3 block as soon as possible
He added that the province constantly worked with experts, as well as with the national and provincial government, and also questioned its modeling and planning.
But Winde said one thing was for sure: There were only two Covid-19 hotspots in the province: Witzenberg and the Cape subway.
He added that the other municipalities only had a few cases, so the humanitarian and economic implications for people in those other areas, which were also under extremely strict blockade, would be disastrous.
Hot spots
For this reason, Winde felt that these areas should be reduced to a Level 3 block, less stringent than Levels 5 and 4 that were originally introduced to decrease the spread of the coronavirus.
Next Friday, he said, he and the province’s MEC health and health experts will meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss the trouble spots.
Winde added that closure decisions did not rest with him, but with the health minister and health MECs.
He is currently isolating himself after doing an individual interview with eNCA cameraman Lungile Tom, who died Wednesday after contracting the virus.
READ | DA takes government to court over closure regulations
The province will also add a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown so residents can see where there are clusters of coronaviruses.
Meanwhile, it had prepared 1,466 high-quality beds, more than the recommended 1,000, as well as 3,306 isolation and quarantine beds.
Difficulty
The province seeks to increase isolation and quarantine beds to 6,600.
Winde said the biggest difficulty today was for the province’s frontline personnel.
He added that he did not actually request the elimination of confinement in the Western Cape, although that is the position of his party, the prosecutor.
What he does recommend is that the barely affected municipalities be allowed to return to work because “we are sitting on the cusp of a humanitarian disaster.”
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Winde said it was not possible to stop the virus, but that the spread curve could and should be reduced.
Brett Herron of the GOOD party said that during the virtual legislative session, the Western Cape seemed to treat Covid-19 as a competition by saying it had tasted more than any other province.
ANC MPL member Cameron Dugmore said any call to reduce the level of blockade in the Western Cape was reckless.
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