Author: Marlene Nqumse

24 May 2020

As of 1pm on 24 May, the Western Cape has 6719 active cases of Covid-19, with a total of 13 696 confirmed cases and 6950 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 667 (63 recovered).

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 24 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 300. We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased at this time.

President Ramaphosa’s address:

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation this evening where we hope he will announce a move to alert level three for the whole country. During the most recent President’s Coordinating Council meeting, the Western Cape presented on its hotspot strategy, which is focused on limiting the number of new infections in the areas where infections are highest, and responding to the impact of the coronavirus and the national lockdown through an all of government, data driven approach. Our health response includes identifying those most at risk, including healthcare workers, and repurposes our community screening and testing efforts to make sure that more can be done quicker, to save lives.

This targeted approach, which enables more of the economy to open up while intervening rigorously in hotspots to slow the virus, also takes into consideration the very severe humanitarian crisis which is unfolding in South Africa today. This cannot be ignored. It will impact the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities who will no longer be able to put food on the table. We must do everything we can to save lives now, and we must do it in a way that also saves lives in the future. This must be based on the best available scientific advice at all times. This has been the Western Cape Government’s position.

Recoveries:

The Western Cape continues to record recoveries across the province, now approaching 7000.

In Witzenberg, where our targeted hotspot plan was first piloted, over 80% of the total number of COVID-19 positive patients, have now recovered. In Khayelitsha, 60% of the total case load to date has recovered, and in the Tygerberg region, 56% of the total number of cases have already recovered.

The role of citizens:

We are working around the clock to make sure that we can provide care to every person who needs it. But we simply cannot do it alone. We need every single person to help us slow the spread, and in doing so, to save lives.

While you may not get seriously ill, those who are older, and those with underlying health conditions are at great risk. When you protect yourself, you protect these vulnerable groups too.

How can you help?

• If you are sick, stay home and first call our hotline for advice. If you are battling to breath, seek urgent healthcare.
• Stay home as much as possible.
• Follow the golden rules of hygiene at all times, including regularly washing your hands and coughing into a tissue or the corner of your arm.
• Always wear a clean cloth mask when you go out in public. A mask alone will not protect you so always follow the golden rules of good hygiene too.
• Avoid all gatherings of people – this is where the virus spreads.
• Keep your distance from others – at least 1.5 metres. It is completely respectful and polite to tell someone to keep their distance if they are standing too close to you.If we all act in this way, we can interrupt the chain of transmission, slow the spread of the virus, and protect those we love. This is how we can all contribute to saving lives.

Cuban doctors:
Today, Western Cape Health Minister Nomafrench Mbombo and the HOD for the Department of Health, Dr Keith Cloete welcomed a cohort of Cuban doctors to the Western Cape. They form part of a group of over 200 doctors and medical specialists who came to South Africa from Cuba to assist in the response to COVID-19 as part of an agreement between Cuba, and the national Department of Health. We wish them well during their stay in the province. They will join the thousands of dedicated and skilled doctors, nurses and healthcare workers already working on the frontline response to the pandemic in the province. The province has also issued a call for people with medical experience to volunteer, and has received over 1000 applications. We will be calling on them to bolster our healthcare response as needed over the coming weeks and months.

23 May 2020

As of 1pm on 23 May, the Western Cape has 6146 active cases of Covid-19, with a total of 12947 confirmed cases and 6525 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 673 (56 recovered)

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 19 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 276. We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased at this time.

Hospitalisation:

The Western Cape is starting to see increased patients receiving care in our hospitals as we move towards the peak of the infection in the province. At the close of business yesterday, 557 patients were being treated in hospital, with 154 of these in ICU or high care. The Western Cape hospital system has the capacity to deal with the demand for hospital beds at this time.

In our preparedness planning, the province has taken into account all of the available beds in both the public and the private sector.

Our existing public sector capacity can provide 2162 acute beds, which includes 658 additional beds created through expansion.

We are also bringing online 1428 additional intermediate care beds in our temporary or “field hospitals” in the Western Cape. Construction on the hospital facility at the CTICC, which will provide 850 of these beds, is well underway and on track for completion in the first week of June. Another 330 beds will be made available at a temporary hospital at Brakengate, 150 at the Cape Winelands Sonstraal Hospital, 68 at the Khayelitsha Thusong Centre, and 30 additional beds at Tygerberg hospital.

In the critical care space (ICU and high care), we will reach a total of 850 ICU beds in the province, the majority of which already exist. We currently have 150 existing beds at public healthcare facilities. An additional 100 beds are being added. We have also arranged to purchase 300 ICU beds from the private sector for public sector patients. The private sector also has an additional 300 ICU beds available in addition to these.

The vast majority of people who contract COVID-19, will not require hospitalisation which is evidenced by the fact that more than half of our total caseload have now recovered. However, in order to ensure that we are able to offer the appropriate level of care to those who need it, we need every resident to play their part to reduce infections, and more specifically to protect the vulnerable who are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill. As we have indicated before, even in the best case scenario, and with both private and public beds, we will fall short of ICU beds.

This requires us to take stock of our behaviour and look at ways in which we can make changes to help flatten the curve and reduce the risk of transmission. This includes staying home as much as possible, especially if you are over 60 or have an underlying illness. When leaving home, hygiene measures such as washing or sanitizing your hands, not touching your face and keeping your distance from other people are highly important. Wearing a clean, cloth mask should not replace these behaviours, but they should all be used together, for maximum effectiveness.

Eid:

Tomorrow, our Muslim residents will mark the holy day of Eid. This is a time that is traditionally marked by attending Mosque and visiting with family and loved ones. This year’s Eid celebrations will be markedly different as a result of lockdown in South Africa but I hope that despite not being able to share the day with all of your loved ones in person, that the day does not lose its spirit of kindness, sharing and connectedness. May all of our Muslim residents have a blessed Eid celebration.

22 May 2020

As of 1pm on 22 May, the Western Cape has 6136 active cases of Covid-19, with a total of 12 519 confirmed cases and 6126  recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 1024 (66 recovered)

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 22 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 257. We send our condolences to the family and the loved ones of the deceased at this time.

Recoveries:

The province has recorded a number of new recoveries and over 6000 people have recovered. It is also positive to see that only about half of the total number of cases reported in the province, are currently active.

It is important to remember that most people who contract COVID-19 will recover and 90% of cases will not require hospitalisation.

I want to stress though that some people, especially the elderly and those with underlying conditions can get seriously ill, and a person who may not get that sick could pass it to these vulnerable groups. We have to change our behaviour to protect ourselves and the people we love.

It is also very heartening to see that 65% of the healthcare workers in the province who have contracted COVID-19, have recovered. In total, the province has recorded 421 infections in healthcare workers in the province (both public and private sector) and 274 of these have recovered.

We thank all of our healthcare workers for the sterling work they are doing in healthcare facilities in the province, helping to fight this virus on the frontlines. The province has unfortunately recorded six healthcare worker deaths including one doctor, three nurses, and three other healthcare workers. We thank them for their incredible service to the province and send our condolences to their families.

Covid-19 spending and procurement:

Today, Finance Minister David Maynier and the Provincial Treasury team briefed the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s ad hoc committee on COVID-19 on our COVID-19 spending thus far.

To date, we have committed R1.14 billion to COVID-19 expenditure to be used in order to procure necessary supplies such as PPE, medical equipment and beds as part of our healthcare response, and in our humanitarian response in order to mitigate the impact of the virus and the lockdown on residents.

The R1.14 billion includes spending on:

-R628 million to the Department of Health for personal protective equipment, laboratory tests, hospital beds and ventilators;

-R273 million to the Department of Education for personal protective equipment, 7019 digital infrared non-touch thermometers for schools and, sanitisers and cleaning materials;

-R168 million to the Department of Transport and Public Works for the set-up of quarantine and isolation facilities, including the set-up of the field hospital at the Cape Town International Convention Centre;

-R35 million to the Department of Social Development and R18 million to the Department of Education for an initial humanitarian response which has included to provision on 50 000 food parcels; the re-initiation of school feeding schemes; and the delivery of 10 000 cooked meals per day for one month; and

-R16.2 million to the Department of Local Government in the form of a Local Government Support Grant to strengthen and support the current humanitarian initiatives within municipalities.

The Director-General, Harry Malila and I also had the opportunity to brief the committee on our COVID-19 response plan, including our hotspot plan, which aims to slow the spread in the nine infection hotspots in the province through a targeted, whole of government approach.

The Western Cape Government has been working around the clock to ensure that the health systems are prepared ahead of the peak of the virus in the province. This is a very challenging time for our province and country, and we need to work together to slow the spread the virus and save lives.

We need everyone to take responsibility and make changes that will help us to flatten the curve of infection including:

• Stay home as much as possible
• Always wear a clean cloth mask in public
• Always follow the golden rules of good hygiene (a mask alone is not enough)
• Keep your distance from people at all times
• Avoid gatherings of people
• If you are sick, stay home and call the hotline. If you are having difficulty breathing, seek urgent healthcare.

21 May 2020

As of 1pm on 21 May, the Western Cape has 5677 active cases of Covid-19, with a total of 11 810 confirmed cases and 5677 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 805 (57 recovered)

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 24 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to . We send our condolences to the family and the loved ones of the deceased at this time.

Yesterday, the country was shocked to hear about the death of a two-day old baby who had been born prematurely, as a result of COVID-19 infection. We are saddened by this tragic loss of such a young life and send our deepest sympathies to the family at this time. Western Cape doctors are currently investigating the case, to better understand all the details.

Healthcare system preparedness

The Western Cape Government has been working around the clock to make sure that the healthcare system is prepared at the peak. This includes making available additional immediate care, acute care and critical care capacity in our healthcare system.

1428 additional immediate care beds will be provided by temporary “field hospitals” in the Western Cape;

• This includes the 850 additional beds provided for at the CTICC temporary hospital facility
• 330 beds at the Brackengate temporary hospital facility
• 68 beds at the Khayelitsha Thusong Centre
• 150 beds at the Cape Winelands Sonstraal Hospital
• 30 additional beds at the Tygerberg Hospital

2162 acute beds will be provided by existing public sector capacity including 658 additional beds through expansion.

We are also looking to make 550 critical care (ICU and High Care) beds available at the peak:

• 150 beds that already exist in public health facilities
• 100 additional beds to be added in the public sector (but additional resources are needed for these)
• We will purchase 300 beds from the private sector for patients from the public sector

There are still an additional 300 ICU beds in the private sector available when this is considered.

This means that we have a potential total of 850 ICU beds available in the Western Cape.

I would like to make clear therefore that the Western Cape Government’s health response planning has taken all of the existing private and public sector ICU or high care beds into account, in an integrated single healthcare system response.

As at close of business on Tuesday, the province had 143 patients in ICU or high care in both the public and private sector.

I must also make clear- while we have sufficient capacity at this time to meet our current critical care needs, as we have indicated before, even in the best-case scenario, we will still fall short of ICU beds.

This is why it is so vitally important that we focus on protecting the most vulnerable. About 90 percent of people who contract COVID-19 will not require hospitalisation, but we have seen from our data that those who are most at risk of becoming seriously ill or dying are the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions.

This is why we will be streamlining our testing and contact tracing to focus on high risk groups such as health workers and vulnerable people. We will also be re-purposing our community screening and testing programme to focus on high risk groups.

We have also provided in excess of 86 000 flu vaccines in the private sector thus far, with over 65 000 of these to vulnerable groups and over 25 000 to healthcare workers.

We need the help of every single person. We simply can’t do this alone. You need to keep yourself safe. When you do this, you interrupt the chain of transmission and slow the virus. You can help us save lives by changing your behaviour:

• Stay home as much as possible
• Always wear a clean cloth mask in public
• Always follow the golden rules of good hygiene (a mask alone is not enough)
• Keep your distance from people at all times
• Avoid gatherings of people
• If you are sick, stay home and call the hotline. If you are having difficulty breathing, seek urgent healthcare.

Minister Mbombo hands over masks in Gugulethu:

Today Minister Mbombo handed over masks to the Ikhaya Loxolo Old Age Home in Gugulethu as part of a public-private initiative coordinated by WoW! (Western Cape on Wellness), in partnership with The Health Foundation, Coconut Jazz and other organisations.

Minister Mbombo said: “The purpose of this initiative is to provide free quality masks to children and adults in vulnerable communities in the Western Cape.
Today we handed over masks at Ikhaya Loxolo Old Age Hometo protect elderly who are deemed as vulnerable from getting the virus. I appeal to the corporates and individuals to assist in this initiative by donating masks to enable us to distribute them far and wide”.

Joint statement by the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces on travel protocols:

This morning, a meeting held to discuss solutions to improve management of traveling, transportation of bodies between the Eastern and Western Cape provinces during the covid19 pandemic resolved that four regulatory protocols must be drafted by the two Premiers and submitted to national government for processing and for consideration by the National Command Council.

The virtual meeting, which took place this morning was attended by Premier Lubabalo Mabuyane and myself, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, Police Minister, Bheki Cele, Health MECs, Sindiswa Gomba, Nomafrench Mbombo, Safety and Liaison MECs Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe and Albert Fritz and the Police leadership from both provinces.

The meeting follows a discussion during the Presidential Coordinating Council where the two provinces reported that they were in talks trying to find protocols of cooperation.

The protocols being developed by the two provinces will focus on:

-Joint cooperation on agriculture to specifically manage the movement and employment conditions of seasonal workers between the two provinces.

-Management of funerals with a focus on restricting movement of bodies of COVID-19 related deaths.

– Management of general travelling of people between the two provinces given the easing of restrictions and to manage traveling when schools and universities are opened.

We also discussed collaboration between provincial departments of health and the South African Police Services in both provinces to enforce restrictions around transportation of bodies.

The meeting agreed that the situation affecting these two provinces is not unique to the two and needs national government consideration to better manage travel and the transportation of bodies nationally in a manner that helps to contain the transmission of Covid19.

The two provinces have committed to work together to hold joint operations and cooperate to ensure the proper management of travel, to curb  emerging criminality and ensure the dignified transportation of bodies for funerals of people who die in the Western Cape to be buried in the Eastern Cape.

Premier Mabuyane said: “I must say that on almost every discussion we had during the meeting, we are agreeing. There is a sufficient consensus around such discussions. Some of these discussions are inter-provincial so they need to be done in the context of national regulations, hence the importance of having Ministers participating in that bilateral.”

On the Western Cape’s part, we welcome the opportunity to engage with the Eastern Cape on this matter, as travel between our two provinces by seasonal farm workers returning home or two work, and to attend funerals is common. Regulations and protocols must be designed in such a way that they limit the spread of the virus, but still allow people living and working in the Western Cape who need to return to the Easter Cape to bury loved ones, to grieve appropriately.

20 May 2020

COVID-19: Western Cape Provincial Overview 7

Municipalities in the Western Cape are preparing for a phased re-opening of municipal offices in line with COVID 19 health and safety measures. Community screenings, roadblocks and humanitarian relief driven by municipalities, continue across the province.

The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, Anton Bredell, says municipal risk assessments of workplaces are being done and public buildings and offices are being cleaned and sanitised.

“Outside of the public health situation with regards to Covid-19, the ongoing humanitarian challenge is our biggest challenge. To date 134 515 food parcels and nearly 200 000 daily cooked meals have been provided to beneficiaries in the province by a combination of organisations, private donors, government entities, municipalities and private businesses. These efforts continue non-stop.”

Some of the latest efforts being done in some municipalities across the province:

•  The West Coast District Municipality (WCDM) is assisting the Department of Social Development with the assessment and verification of individuals and households who’ve applied for food parcels. The district municipality will set up a call centre and avail personnel to assist with the backlog of applications which will shorten the waiting period of food parcel deliveries.
• With the objective of ensuring a more hygienic environment WCDM Fire Services continue with sanitizing of public spaces. Twenty-six spaza shops were sanitized in Darling while the disinfection of reception areas of local police stations continue across the district.
• The vast distances between towns in the West Coast district remains a big challenge. To assist the local municipalities with their humanitarian relief projects the Executive Mayor of WCDM, Alderman Harold Cleophas, agreed that the district municipality will transport food parcels to the Matzikama- and Cederberg municipal areas. Travel distance to the furthest drop-off point is more than 200 kilometres.
• Hessequa Municipality: Door-to-door screening took place from 11 – 14 May 2020.  The initial target of approximately 7,500 screenings was exceeded and 12,427 residents were screened during this 4-day period.
• Stellenbosch Municipality is preparing for its first ever virtual Council Meeting, scheduled for 27 May 2020. All councillors are receiving training to help facilitate this process. Sanitizing of public spaces, offices and depots continue to ensure the safety of our staff and residents.
• The City of Cape Town has reprioritised R12 million towards targeted food insecurity programs around the metropole, working with public sector institutions in order to ensure residents in need receives a meal.
• Swartland Municipality: 72 feeding schemes continue to provide meals to the vulnerable in the whole of the Swartland Municipal area.

Bredell has urged all citizens with questions or concerns or who wish to make a contribution in the ongoing struggle to visit the provincial website: www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus or to get in touch with their local municipalities for assistance.

“In addition, if you have flu-like symptoms, and may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19, please contact the provincial hotline on 021 928 4102 for advice on what to do next.”

ENDS.

Media enquiries:

James-Brent Styan

Spokesperson for the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell

Mobile: 084 583 1670 / E-mail:  James-Brent.Styan@westerncape.gov.za

20 May 2020

As of 1pm on 20 May, the Western Cape has 5967 active cases, 11072 total confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection and 5105 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

There are currently 680 unallocated cases and 42 recoveries.

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 28 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 211. We extend our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Weekly Digital Press Conference with Premier Winde, Minister Nomafrench Mbombo, Director-General Harry Malila, and HOD Dr Keith Cloete

Our weekly press conference was held this afternoon. You can find the full press release here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/news/our-priority-protect-vulnerable-and-those-high-risk-our-curve-rises