Media Release: Update on the coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde

10 June 2020

As of 1pm on 10 June, the Western Cape has 12 526 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 36 279 confirmed cases and 22 862 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 3620 (1125 recovered)

More data, including updated suburb level data as at June 1, is available here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 40 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 891. We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Co-operation with the Eastern Cape:

The Western Cape has drafted a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding travel for funerals and the transportation of bodies between the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. The MoU has been submitted to the Eastern Cape for approval and signature.

Last month, I had a meeting with the Premier of the Eastern Cape, members of our cabinets, National Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and Police Minister Bheki Cele to discuss COVID-19 related issues impacting both of our provinces with travel between the two provinces for funerals being one of the focus areas.

At that meeting, we agreed to draw up a series of protocols around funerals and movement between provinces which are now contained in the draft MoU. This includes details on the preparation of bodies for travel and the permits required to travel for a funeral as suggested in the national regulations.

The draft MoU indicates that those traveling between the two provinces may be subjected to a medical examination, or placed into a medical, quarantine and isolation facility should this be deemed necessary.

This document has been drawn up in the spirit of co-operative governance which is enshrined in the Constitution and the document commits both provinces to working together and supporting one another.

Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, Anton Bredell says the Provincial Governments of the Eastern Cape and Western Cape have the common goal of combating and preventing the transmission of COVID-19.

“To successfully combat this virus, all organs of the state must take seriously the principles of co-operative government and inter-governmental relations. We must do what we can to mitigate, combat and prevent any transmission of COVID-19 inter-provincially. This document shows that we are proactive and serious when it comes to looking out for the best interests of the people in both provinces,” Minister Bredell said.

The Western Cape has already drawn up protocols for the management of increased COVID-19 deaths, both in the province and in cases where travel between provinces will be required.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world and it was important to us here in the Western Cape that people be allowed to grieve and bury their loved ones, in line with their religious and cultural practices, while at the same time minimising the risk of the spread of COVID-19.

We have consulted widely in this regard, with nearly 50 organisations representing various religious, traditional and cultural groupings. These include the National House of Traditional Leaders, traditional leaders in the Western Cape, organisations representing indigenous people in the province as well as organisations representing the major faith groups including the Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Christian faiths.

National regulations around the size of funerals, certain burial practices and who may attend are already in place and are not superseded by the Western Cape protocols.