13 April 2020

As of 00h01 on 13 April, the Western Cape has recorded 628 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:
Western 192
Southern 139
Northern 30
Tygerberg 49
Eastern 39
Klipfontein 34
Mitchells Plain 15
Khayelitsha 14
Total 512

Sub Districts Non-Metro:
Garden Route Bitou 6
Garden Route Knysna 13
Garden Route George 13
Garden Route Hessequa 5
Garden Route Mossel Bay 17
Garden Route Oudtshoorn 2
Cape Winelands Stellenbosch 16
Cape Winelands Drakenstein 6
Cape Winelands Breede Valley 6
Cape Winelands Langeberg 1
Overberg Overstrand  9
Overberg Theewaterskloof 1
West Coast Saldanha Bay Municipality 3
West Coast Swartland 2

Unallocated: 16

*A note on today’s data: Due to updates in address data, two cases which appeared in yesterday’s update for Mossel Bay have been re-allocated to the metro region. Mossel Bay therefore currently stands at 17 cases.

There are currently 29 Covid-19 positive people being treated in hospitals in the province, with 15 of these in intensive care.

Community screening and testing:
Community screening and testing will resume in areas across the province tomorrow. We encourage those in communities where testing is occurring to make use of the opportunity. Screening and testing help us to identify pockets of infection, and allow our contact tracing teams to get to work quickly and work to stop the spread.

Tomorrow’s testing will be conducted in the following areas:
Cape Winelands: Mbekweni, Oliver Tambo
Garden Route: Asla Park, Mzathi Street Blocks
Metro: Bloekombos, Kraaifontein (ward 6), Delft, Bo-Kaap, Imizamo Yethu, Lotus River, Grassy Park, Gugulethu, Nyanga and Kleinvlei.

Screening sites may change at short notice in order to respond to needs as they arise.

Screening and testing is especially important in communities which are densely populated and in those with high numbers of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, or people with underlying medical conditions.

As a province, we have seen an uptick in the number of community transmissions, especially in the metro area. We therefore call on all of our residents to take precautions to keep themselves and their families safe. Residents are reminded that they should only leave their homes to purchase food, collect a social grant, go to the pharmacy, seek medical attention, or if they are employed to do an essential service.

When leaving home for these activities, it is vital that people practice social distancing, including leaving sufficient space in queues, and in other places like taxi ranks and bus stops. Make sure you wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, and if you are able to, wear a clean, cloth mask. Cloth masks must always be used in conjunction with other hygiene methods and must be carefully put on and taken off, using only the ties or strings. They should be washed and ironed after every use.

We also call on those businesses which are open at this time, to take hygiene seriously in order to protect their staff and their customers.

Third Thursday:
Due to the phenomenal public response to our First Thursday radio show, we will be hosting a Third Thursday show Question and Answer show between 6 and 7 pm this week. This will be an hour long show which will be facilitated at Bush Radio and simulcast across several stations across the province. Listeners will be able to call in on 021 448 6266, WhatsApp on 061 862 1065 or SMS keyword Covid-19 to 32158 followed by their question, name and area. Each SMS costs R1.00

8 April 2020

Due to the national lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there is much confusion in the rental property market and a tenant’s obligation to pay rent.

The Western Cape Rental Housing tribunal would like to take this opportunity to remind landlords and tenants of the following:

In terms of section 26 of the Constitution: “No one may be evicted from their home or have their home demolished without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit arbitrary evictions.”

A tenant may not be evicted without a court order even if the tenant is in breach of the rental agreement e.g. non-payment of rent.

National Government has issued a moratorium on all evictions for the lockdown period.
Minister Simmers said: “I call on owners and tenants where there might be disputes to duly attempt to find each other during this challenging period. It is also critical that no attempt be made, by either party, to manipulate the current situation and rather act in good faith.

All of our efforts should at this stage go into adhering to all the lockdown prescripts, whether this relates to rental regulations, remaining at home, keeping our social distance or maintaining good and effective hygiene practices.”
The tribunal would like to make it clear to all citizens that National Government has not issued any regulations granting tenants a rental payment holiday for the lockdown period.

During this lockdown period, it stands to reason that some tenants might experience some difficult in meeting their monthly obligations in terms of rent.
Should a tenant be unable to pay rent due to loss of income as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, the parties are advised to discuss the matter and attempt to come to an amicable solution.

A landlord should be considerate and understanding. Tenants must also bear in mind that landlords also have financial obligations. If parties are able to reach an agreement, the agreement should be put in writing. Each situation will have its own unique circumstances and therefore solutions to each situation should be considered accordingly.

For more information on the above, the Tribunal is available to offer advice to citizens via email (see attached) or on the following email address Nkosana.Vaveki@westerncape.gov.za
Media Enquiries:
Marcellino Martin
Spokesperson for Minister Tertuis Simmers
Tel: 021 483 3397
Mobile: 082 721 3362
Email: Marcellino.martin@westerncape.gov.za
or
Nathan Adriaanse
Director Communication & Stakeholder Relations
Tell: 021 483 2868
Mobile: 083 2631720
Email: Nathan.Adriaanse@westerncape.gov.za

9 April 2020

As of 00h01 on 8 April, we have a total of 522 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the province.

We also currently have 32 people in hospital, with 10 being cared for in ICU.

We have recorded 162 recoveries from COVID-19. Recovery refers to a person who has completed 14 days of isolation from the date of first symptoms, and who is now symptom free. This is the standard practice recommended by the NICD.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 2

Community screening update: 

This week, we started the roll out of community screening and testing, which will help us to identify areas of community transmission and to put in place measures to prevent further infections. These screenings and tests are an important tool in the fight against COVID-19.

Since screening started on Saturday, we have screened approximately 8215 people and referred 449 for testing.

From Tuesday, screening will be significantly stepped up in line with the laboratories’ ability to process tests.

Health Minister Nomafrench Mbombo said: “We committed to intensifying screening and testing to proactively reach communities where positive patients and contacts are located. Testing sites were set up in the province to scale up efforts to find new COVID-19 infections in people who did not present to our health facilities. This has been a huge success and we are planning to expand this to include more areas in rural and urban areas. Once again, I would like to reiterate that people should stay at home to stop the spread of coronavirus. Together we can stop the spread.”

The Department of Health’s technical team has been busy identifying appropriate sites, determining the logistics associated with referring patients to these sites and training people working at these sites.

The health workstream and the transport and logistics workstream are also at an advanced stage of work being done to identify sites across the province that can be used as temporary hospital facilities should the need for these arise.

In the last week, the call for medical volunteers has also gone live as part of our preparedness planning.

Humanitarian assistance:

COVID-19 has generated economic shocks, both in South Africa as well as the rest of the world.  The lockdown has already had a significant impact, hitting many households hard.

We anticipate that the lockdown will have a significant impact on poor people and those already reliant on government for nutrition support.

The Western Cape Provincial Treasury approved R53 million in funding in order to provide food and nutritional support across the province.

This is to be spent as follows:

• –R20 million to distribute 50 000 food parcels. The food parcels will feed a family of four for approximately one month, thereby reaching an additional 200 000 people who meet the criteria. These include households affected by COVID-19 infections in the following instances:
• A member/s of the family who tested positive for the virus and are in isolation in their homes.
• A household where a member of the family who tested positive for the virus and who have insufficient means to sustain themselves during the lockdown period.
• A person who is on medication or who suffers from a chronic illness and has insufficient means to sustain themselves, and has been assessed and referred by a local clinic or registered health practitioner.
• A person and their household who have insufficient means to sustain themselves during the lockdown period who was referred by a registered humanitarian relief agency, registered NPO or a local municipality, and assessed by DSD. In this instance, persons not yet in receipt of SASSA grants, including the elderly, child headed houses, grant awaiting beneficiaries will be prioritised.

The provincial call centre number (0860 142 142 or 0800 220 250) or a please call me line (079 769 1207) have been publicized for people to call in and request assistance for themselves or for others in need of help. The calls are routed to a team which has been set up at DSD to take down all of their details, including addresses. This information is added to a central database and is routed based on the address to the nearest DSD local offices for telephonic assessment by one of our social workers, and screening of the person’s ID against SASSA’s database to check whether the person is an existing grant or food recipient from SASSA. Once a prospective beneficiary is confirmed as meeting the criteria, their details are sent to the NGO covering the area and the NGO delivers the parcel to the home.

We are working with four established NGOs, with extensive logistical networks. They are: The Red Cross, Mustadifin, Islamic Relief and SANZAF. They are able to buy food at low rates, package and deliver the food. They will need to provide evidence of delivery and later in the year, after finalizing the project, must submit audited financial statements to ensure that the funds have been correctly spent.

Funds were transferred on Monday and we expect to see the first rollout of food parcels to take place this weekend.

–R 5million for the Department of Social Development to deliver an additional 10 000 cooked meals every day for one month at its various soup kitchens and feeding sites. These sites currently deliver about 10 000 meals daily, and by next week, will be providing 20 000 meals.

–R18 million to the Department of Education to initiate a special school feeding program from 8 April until 20 April. School feeding got underway in the province yesterday, and initial reports indicate that nearly 100 000 learners, who would not otherwise have had a meal, were fed at 380 sites, despite not all the schools having received all their supplies. We expect this number to climb considerably next week, as 485 000 children receive meals at over 1000 schools during normal term time. The feeding is conducted under strict guidelines which include hygiene and social distancing protocols to keep our learners safe. SAPS has also partnered with us to ensure that areas where feeding is occurring are patrolled.

R10 million will be used to scale up the number of beneficiaries at existing DSD feeding schemes to 6520 people.

Donations:

We are partnering with the Red Cross to distribute essential goods to those in need during the lockdown. Red Cross has placed donation trolleys at many local grocery stores and we request that those who want to make a donation, place these in the trolleys while out shopping for their essential goods. The Red Cross will collect and deliver these to their network of NGOs.

Non-perishable food items like bread and cake flour, long-life milk, maize meal, oats, mixed fruit jam, pasta, tea, coffee, sugar, tinned food and rice are welcome. Onions, carrots, potatoes and baby food are also required. Non-food items like soap, sanitary pads, toothpaste, household disinfectants, nappies, and toilet paper can also be donated.

A full list of items and other ways to assist can be found under the “how you can help” tab at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus.

We call on individuals and businesses, who are able to assist with donations of food or cash, to help us through this pandemic.

Repatriation flights:

Our JOC, working with national and local government, SAPS and various embassies and consulates have repatriated nine flights so far, with another two taking place today.

In total, there are approximately 6000 people looking to be repatriated back to their home countries.

The process of repatriation has been carefully coordinated in order to reduce risk to everyone involved.

Only foreign nationals who have made the necessary arrangements with their consulates or embassies, and who have the necessary paperwork including a flight ticket, have been permitted to depart.

This is an unprecedented time globally, and we hope that those visitors who have had their visits to the Western Cape impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, will have the opportunity to return in the future to experience the full extent of our tourism and hospitality offerings.

We wish them well on their journey home and thank everyone involved in securing their safe return.

Economy:

The Economic workstream continues to help provide clarity and certainty to businesses in the province. This week, they launched an online tool which businesses can use to find and access appropriate government assistance. The tool can be accessed at https://www.supportbusiness.co.za/covid-19-support-finder/

The Department of Economic Development and Tourism also rolled out the Jump mobile app. This app, designed to be a one-stop-shop of support available to businesses, will be updated with the latest information on the coronavirus which is relevant to business. It will also offer advice on industry sector experts on regulations, and guidelines to support businesses and their staff at this time.

The workstream is also working closely with businesses regarding the manufacture of masks, including cloth masks in line with the Western Cape Government’s mask policy- with discussions also including corporate donations for poorer communities.

The economic workstream has held successful engagements with the national government around allowing fishermen to access and use accommodation while on fishing trips.

The workstream also met with SA Tourism to discuss support for certain businesses once they are able to operate again.

9 April 2020

Premier Alan Winde , together with Education Minister Debbie Schäfer and representatives from the Departments of Social Development and Health, will today hold a digicon to brief the media on the Western Cape’s response to Coronavirus, and the province’s humanitarian response to the pandemic.

IMPORTANT DETAILS FOR MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA:

In order to play our part in reducing contact and limiting the spread of the virus, the press briefing will be held online, live on Premier Winde’s Facebook page.

Members of the media wishing to ask questions will be required to send them to a Whatsapp group which will be created specifically for this purpose. To be added to the group, you must RSVP and send your number to Bianca Capazorio on this email address before noon.

Questions can be sent before or during the briefing.

NB: Those who were added to the group for previous digicons need not resubmit their numbers.

Facebook Live details:

Premier Winde will go live at 2.30pm. His Facebook page can be found at at https://www.facebook.com/windealan/

8 April 2020

Case update:

As at 00h01 on 08 April 2020, the Western Cape had recorded 510 positively confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 4

As at 12h00 on 08 April 2020, we have 31 people admitted to hospital for Covid-19, with nine people receiving care in ICU.

Today, the Western Cape surpassed the 500 case mark, and with every additional case we register, we increase the risk of a vulnerable person being infected. It is important that we all continue to take the necessary steps to ensure we protect ourselves and others. This includes regular handwashing, not touching your face, and abiding by the rules of the lockdown by staying home.

Together with social distancing when we do go out in line with the lockdown regulations, these are the gold standard for infection prevention and we must continue to use these as our strongest line of defence.

Community testing update:

By yesterday, a total of 3930 people had been screened since the Western Cape rolled out community screening at the weekend. Of these, 258 people were referred for testing based on their responses to the screening questionnaire.

We saw excellent uptake in Happy Valley with 1055 people screened, Mbekweni, with 509 screened and Ilitha Park, with 437 screened. In the Bo-Kaap, 408 people had been screened by yesterday afternoon.

Today, I had the opportunity to demonstrate the screening and testing process, with Dr Justin Standaar from the GreenPoint Community Clinic.

After answering the questions that form part of the screening, Dr Standaar performed two swabs- one from the top of my nasal passage, and another from my throat.

There has been a lot of fake news around the safety of the test and what it entails. Having now undergone it myself, I can say the test was slightly uncomfortable, being something I had never experienced before, but it was both painless and is 100% safe.

I urge all those in areas where community testing is being offered, to take up the opportunity. Community testing helps us to determine the presence of the virus in specific areas, and is an important tool in helping to stop the spread.

Minister Nomafrench Mbombo said: “Fake news and misinformation around health news constitutes a potential threat to the public health and it robs people of vital information that can help them to get the best out of the health system. This is not the time for bad jokes nor a time to instill fear. I welcome the enthusiasm to screen and test despite recent fake news events. This has led us to expanding more sites to ensure that many people get to be screened and tested.”

Updates to the regulations and business support:

We welcome the announcement by the national government that wine exports can resume. The wine industry supports a lot of agricultural jobs in the Western Cape, and exports of wine are an important economic contributor. The changes to this regulation are therefore positive news during this difficult economic period.

Working with Wesgro and the City of Cape Town, we also launched a tool that will help businesses locate and apply for financial support available to them. The tool asks users five easy questions, ranks the answers according to pre-determined criteria, and provides a list of relief measures the business could apply for, all in under a minute. The tool can be accessed at www.supportbusiness.co.za/covid-19-support-finder.

School feeding update:

We are pleased to see that the emergency school feeding programme got underway in the province, to ensure that learners are able to access nutritious meals during this period.

We thank all of the schools, teachers and volunteers who have come on board to help us feed our children. I am also pleased to see that detailed protocols are in place to ensure that children are kept safe. These include children bringing their own food containers from home which are not touched by the staff, sufficient adult supervision, social distancing in the queues and ensuring that no more than 50 children come at a time. Children also do not eat at the school, but take their meal home.

We also thank SAPS for their support, as they have agreed to patrol areas around schools where meals are being served.

7 April 2020

Case update:

As at 00h01 on 07 April 2020, the Western Cape had recorded 490 Covid-19 infections.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 5

As at 12h00 on 07 April 2020, we have 28 people admitted to hospital for Covid-19, with 10 receiving care in ICU.

Yesterday, a 57 year old man became the third Western Cape COVID-19 related death. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones.

While the Western Cape Government, with our partners at a local and national government level, are working hard to mitigate the impact of the virus, it is up to every one of us to help stop the spread. We continue to stress the importance of basic hygiene practices such as thorough hand washing, and sneezing and coughing into an elbow or tissue. We appeal to residents to abide by the lockdown and to practice social distancing when going outside of the home to shop for food, go to the pharmacy, seek medical attention, collect a grant, or go to work in an essential service.

A message from the Western Cape Minister of Health on World Health Day:

World Health Day is celebrated on the 7^th of April each year. This year, the theme is to support nurses and midwives, recognizing the vital role of nurses and other health workers. World Health Day also promotes healthy living.

Minister Nomafrench Mbombo said: “Nurses and other health workers are at the forefront of the COVID-19 response, providing high quality, respectful treatment and care, leading community dialogue to address fears and questions, and, in some instances, collecting data for clinical studies. This World Health Day, let us support the nursing and midwifery workforces to ensure that they remain strong and fully enabled to provide the healthcare that is needed by our people.”

Update on community screening:

Community screening was conducted today in Philippi, Bishop Lavis, Valhalla Park, Netreg, Kraaifontein, Scottsdene and the Bo-Kaap. We thank all of those who welcomed the community health care workers and enabled them to fulfill their important role in stemming the spread of coronavirus, by being screened and where necessary, tested.

Yesterday, screening was conducted in Mbekweni, Kwanonqaba, and Bishop Lavis, Netreg and Valhalla Park.

Community screening will be conducted in Elsiesriver, Ruyterwacht, Bothasig, Durbanville, Klipheuwel, Fisantekraal and the Bo Kaap tomorrow.

New areas and sub-districts will be announced regularly.

 Fake news: 

I welcome the news of the arrest of a Cape Town man for spreading fake news about the safety of COVID-19 testing. During this pandemic, it is critical that people are well informed, and armed with the correct information to keep themselves and their families safe. Fake news can have potentially deadly consequences and I remind residents not to share information that does not have an official or identifiable source. Residents are also reminded that the lockdown regulations have stipulated that the creation or spread of fake news is an offence.

 School feeding scheme update: 

This week, approximately 1000 schools across the province will start providing meals to learners as part of the school feeding scheme.

The education districts will work with each school that normally provides food during term time to find the best possible way to implement this humanitarian plan for their vulnerable learners, based on the unique circumstances of the school and its learners. Schools will communicate the plans to their learners’ parents.

Nutrition is integral in building the health and wellness of our communities and restarting the school nutrition programme forms part of our humanitarian response to the coronavirus pandemic.

06 April 2020

SASSA has provided a solution to temporary disability grants which lapsed or expired in March resulting in some beneficiaries not being paid.

SASSA offices were closed since the lockdown and this posed a challenge for beneficiaries whose grants expired in March and were therefore unable to re-apply at SASSA offices. The payment file for April payments was extracted before the lockdown was announced, meaning that all temporary disability grants which were due to lapse at the end of March 2020 had already lapsed and were not generated for payment in April.

In order to deal with this unintended consequence of the lockdown, SASSA is providing social relief of distress in the form of food parcels and vouchers to beneficiaries whose disability grants expired in April as an interim measure to cushion the impact of the termination of the grant benefit.

The situation will be fully remedied for those grants expiring in April because Ministerial directions issued on 30 March 2020 enable continued payment of temporary disability grants throughout the lockdown period. This development should be able to eliminate the panic caused by recent media reports.

Temporary disability grants have a lifespan of twelve months and beneficiaries have to re-apply after the prescribed period. In twelve months there is a possibility that a medical condition might have improved to the extent that it does not require continuation of temporary disability grant.

A WhatsApp message displaying an application form with a SASSA logo has been doing the rounds calling on the public to apply for food parcels. This exaggerated copy and paste message is not from SASSA. Grant beneficiaries who did not receive their grants for whatever reason will be prioritised. Preference for support will be given to citizens who are not receiving support from any other source, to ensure that the limited resources reach as many citizens as possible.

Social relief of distress requires an application process but during the declared state of disaster, applications will be done telephonically on 0800 60 10 11. The forms which have been circulating on social media and other platforms will not be accepted from the public because applications are done telephonically and only an authorised SASSA official completes the forms. Provincial Joint Operations Centres and the department of social development are coordinating the issuing of food parcels at Food Distribution Centres to alleviate the impact of the lockdown.

Issued on behalf of the South African Social security Agency
Media inquiries should be forwarded to Paseka Letsatsi on 082 883 9969 or PasekaL@sassa.gov.za