27 July 2020

As of 1pm on 27 July, the Western Cape has 12 688 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 91 180 confirmed cases and 75 595 recoveries.

Cape Metro Sub-districts:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 6552 (5084 recovered)

Data note: It is not always possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new recorded case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.

More data is available here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 35 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 2897. We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Four months of lockdown and how the Western Cape Government has responded:

Today marks four months since South Africa went into Lockdown, in order to slow the spread of the virus and to buy us time to prepare our health and other government systems for the peak of infections that were to come. Our responsibility was to ensure that every person received the care they need, when they needed it.

The Western Cape Government has taken this responsibility very seriously, and our teams have worked around the clock to make sure that this happened. This was made clear in our special budget tabled last week, where R3.05 billion was allocated to the fight against Covid-19 in the Western Cape. This included:

• R1.8 billion to the Department of Health for personal protective equipment, temporary field hospitals, testing and screening, and additional bed capacity;
• R400 million to the Department of Transport and Public Works for the hiring of venues and the purchase of services for quarantine and isolation facilities;
• R310 million to the Department of Education for personal protective equipment, and the sanitisation of schools;
• R84 million for humanitarian relief including inter alia:

o   R25.9 million to the Department of Social Development for an emergency food relief programme;

o   R18 million to the Department of Education for an emergency school feeding scheme; and

o   R17.8 million to the Department of Local Government for an emergency food relief programme;

• R27 million to the Department of Local Government for the coordination and implementation of the response to the pandemic in hotspots;
• R14 million to the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to support small businesses, workplace safety, and screening passengers at the George Airport; and
• R12 million to the Department of Social Development for personal protective equipment and operational support to Old Age Homes and Early Childhood Development Centres across the Western Cape.

More detailed information on the tabled budget and relevant documents, can be found on  https://www.westerncape.gov.za/provincial-treasury/news/special-adjustment-budget-address-budget-beat-covid-19-western-cape

I want to thank every person in our government for working so hard to make this happen. We are still in the midst of a serious pandemic, and we have a lot more work to do. But your hard work, and continuous dedication to saving lives has inspired me. Thank you!

To our residents: I know that you are tired, and that you wish this was all over already. I also do. The reality is that the virus is going to stay with us for some time still, as there is still no vaccine.

So we need to carry on changing our behaviour every day so that we keep ourselves, and our loved ones safe. I want to say a very big thank you to every single person who is doing so already. Millions of people across our province are following the golden rules and playing their part.

To those of you who are not yet, now is the time to join in. Wear your mask, wash your hands, keep a distance, avoid touching your face, and sneeze and cough into a tissue or the corner of your arm. If we all do this, we can keep safe, and we will save lives.

Webinar series launched to support tourism sector:

I am very concerned by the second unemployment pandemic taking shape in our province and country. We need to fight this pandemic with the same determination as we have Covid-19.

That is why I am pleased that our Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier today announced a five-part weekly webinar series for the tourism sector that aims to provide support and advice on opening safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This tourism webinar series is one of the many ways we are working hard to support the tourism sector, which has been hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Alert Level 3 restrictions and is facing significant job losses in the Western Cape.

The launch of the tourism webinar series follows the announcement on the 15 July of the Tourism Product Development Fund which commits a total of R5 million to support new or existing tourism products and experiences in the Western Cape.

For further details on registering for the tourism webinars, kindly follow https://www.westerncape.gov.za/news/webinar-series-launched-support-tourism-sector

Call for minute of remembrance in honour of all those who have gone before us:

Today our Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais, with the support of our Faith Based Organisations (FBO) Network and various stakeholders, called for a minute of silence every Wednesday at 12h00 in which we light a candle in remembrance of those who have lost their lives to Covid-19.

As we understand that many feel overwhelmed with emotions of sadness, depression and/or anxiety with the increasing loss felt during this difficult time, we remain committed to the mental and physical wellbeing of all those we serve because it is only with compassionate will and collaborative efforts, that we will beat this pandemic.

The Western Cape Government, together with our FBO Network offer bereavement and psycho-social support through our Departments of Social Development and Health across the province. If psycho-social support is needed, please do not hesitate to contact us on our hotline number 0800 220 250 to be connected to your nearest local office or visit https://www.westerncape.gov.za/dept/social-development. For additional support, kindly contact the bereavement helpline on 082 925 5938 or 079 872 6408 or your local faith based organization for counselling as is needed.

24 July 2020

As of 1pm on 24 July, the Western Cape has 11 785 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 88 499 confirmed cases and 73 897 recoveries.

Cape Metro Sub-districts:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 5961 (5069 recovered)

Data note: It is not always possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new recorded case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.

More data is available here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 29 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 2817. We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

School closures:

The Western Cape Government is concerned that the school closures announced last night by President Cyril Ramaphosa will have a greater negative impact on children’s safety than if they were to go to school.

We believe that the announcement is not based on scientific evidence and reasoning. As a province, we pride ourselves on having responded to the pandemic in a way that is both data-led and evidence driven.

We understand that for many parents, sending their children to school results in a lot of fear and anxiety. The Western Cape Government and our teachers have worked hard to ensure that those parents who do choose to keep their children at home are able to do so. But for many other parents, sending their children to school is the only option and the closure will impact these children the hardest.

Many parents who have returned to work will struggle to find safe spaces for children who are not at school over this period, putting them at risk of injury, accidents or abuse. At a time when the economy is under significant strain and we are facing an unemployment crisis, many of these parents cannot afford to stay at home for four weeks.

The closure may also impact children who rely on the meals they receive at school. While the Western Cape is the only province to have continued to feed learners throughout the lockdown period, and while schools were closed, we know that it is easier for children to access meals when they are attending schools daily. In the face of major food security threats across the country, these daily meals are essential for many children.

Additionally, daily stimulation and learning is necessary to ensure that our children do not fall behind. For many working parents, home schooling, and at home learning activities like reading, are not possible. Most impacted will be poor learners who don’t have access to online learning materials and the internet to continue to learn during this time.

As Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier outlined in his adjustment budget yesterday, the Western Cape Department of Education has been allocated R310 million in funding to procure protective equipment and to sanitise schools. We have also seen schools across the province put in every effort to ensure that children are safe.

We can all help to slow the spread and ensure that we keep ourselves, and our loved ones safe by washing our hands, regularly cleaning down surfaces and high traffic areas in our homes and workplaces, correctly wearing a mask so that it covers both the nose and mouth, and social distancing whenever we leave home.