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

06 April 2020

The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms Thoko Didiza, MP is pleased to announce the department’s interventions to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19.

The department has ring-fenced R1.2 billion for assistance to mainly target financially distressed small-scale farmers. Of the R1.2 billion, R400 million has been allocated for farmers within the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) programme and the remainder will be channelled towards all other farmers that are mainly within the following commodity sectors:

• Poultry: Day old chicks, Point of lay chickens, feed, medication and sawdust;
• Other Livestock: Feed and medication.
• Vegetables: Seedlings, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and soil correction.
• Other commodity sectors will be evaluated on a case by case basis, as the Department continuously monitors the impact of COVID-19 on the sector at large.

Qualifying criteria for farmers
– South African citizens who have been actively farming for a minimum of 12 months and currently in the production season or cycle.
– Be registered on farmer register, commodity database or provincial
database [Those who are not on the Farmer Register will be
registered to benefit].
– Communal farmers.
– Smallholder farmers with annual turnover between R50 000 and
R1 million.
– The adjudication will prioritise women, youth and people with
disabilities.

Exclusions
Mechanisation, infrastructure and overhead costs will NOT be
supported. This is not comprehensive support but intervention package
amid COVID-19.

Farmers who are preparing for the 2020 summer production season will
not be supported. The aim is to provide immediate to near-term support
to smallholder farmers currently affected by COVID-19.

Farmers who are currently receiving support through other programmes
of government and its entities.

No payment for debts.

The applications for this funding will be open from 08 April 2020 and will
close on 22 April 2020. No late entries will be accepted. Application
forms will be available on 08 April 2020 on the departmental website –
www.dalrrd.gov.za and through national, provincial, district and local
offices of both the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and
Rural Development and Provincial Departments of Agriculture.

Applications will be lodged electronically at applications@dalrrd.gov.za
or submitted to the offices as outlined.

The Minister wishes to also encourage all stakeholders within the sector
to observe and implement regulations as published by Government
Notice No. 318 of 18 March 2020, as amended by Government Notices
Nos. R 398 of 25 March 2020 and R419 of 26 March 2020. The
observation and implementation of these prescripts on health and
occupational safety is also critical for the farmworkers, who are the
backbone of the food supply system.

“I urge all employers within the sector to fully comply with all the
applicable prescripts. Together, as stakeholders within the sector we
have a mandate to ensure that there is access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food for our country,” said Minister Didiza.

END
For media enquiries contact the Media Liaison Officer Mr Reggie
Ngcobo on 0828832458

Issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development

6 April 2020

Case update:

As at 00h01 on 06 April 2020, the Western Cape had 475 recorded Covid-19 infections.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro: 

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 3

As at 12h00 today, there are currently 26 patients in hospital, of which 12 are in ICU.

We are also very sad to note that the Western Cape recorded its second COVID-19 related death over the weekend. The patient was an 82 year old woman.

We convey our sincere condolences to the deceased’s family, friends and community during this very difficult time.

Community testing update:

Community screening got underway in two communities over the weekend (Happy Valley and Ilitha Park) and rolled out in a further five today. A total of 1492 people were screened over the weekend, and 45 swabs taken.

Minister of Health, Nomafrench Mbombo said: “We must ensure that our vulnerable communities are screened and tested in greater numbers to ensure our people are protected against the spread of the COVID-19 disease​. I was at Mbekweni in Paarl this morning to give support to our community teams and we had a huge turn-out”.

Over the weekend, we also saw a number of false reports around what the testing entails. One of these was a video indicating that the test swabs are contaminated.

We strongly condemn this fake news. SAPS has indicated to us today that they are investigating this instance of spreading fake news, and I hope the appropriate steps are taken against the person responsible. This kind of messaging is not only inaccurate, it is also dangerous as people could put their own health, and the health of those around them, at risk by not getting tested when they should in fact get tested.

The screening process which we are rolling out entails the following:

-Community Health Workers will go door-to-door to ask people standard questions.

-Depending on the answers, some people will be asked to present themselves for testing.

-Testing will be done in either a mobile unit, or at the nearest health facility – community members will be advised where to go.

-At the health facility/ mobile unit, social distancing measures will be put in place.

-The test will be performed as a mouth swab, which is clinically safe.

–The community member will be advised to quarantine themselves while they await their test result which can take approximately two days.

If the test is positive for COVID-19, the person will be contacted and the process of isolation will be explained to them. If they are unable to isolate themselves in their current home situation, arrangements will be made for them to be transferred to a safe isolation facility.

-Their recent close contacts will also be contacted by a tracing team.

This screening is not something to be afraid of. It is part of our country’s effort to stop the spread of the virus, by making sure those who are sick are identified and cared for.

We ask that you welcome these healthcare workers into your communities. By working together, we can stop the spread and save many lives.

Healthcare workers:

This week, we observe World Health Worker Week and we would like to use the opportunity to pay tribute to all health workers who make up our healthcare system and thank them for their hard work throughout the year. As we face this global pandemic, we are especially grateful for the work that our medical staff do and for the sacrifices they make. The best way that we can support the work that these heroes do is by ensuring that we stay home and obey the rules of the lockdown. We also call on residents who want to wear masks in public, to make or use cloth ones, and to reserve N95 respirators and medical masks for our staff who need them most.

Food parcels update:

Following the announcement over the weekend of additional funding for food parcels, the Department of Social Development has begun the rollout of 50 000 food parcels, which will sustain an average household for one month.

Households must meet the following criteria:

• 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 tested positive for the virus and where the family has insufficient means to sustain themselves during the lockdown period.

-A person who is on medication or who suffers from a chronic illness, has insufficient means to sustain themselves, and was 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, has been referred by a registered humanitarian relief agency, registered NPO or a local municipality, and assessed by the Department of Social Development. In this instance, persons not yet in receipt of SASSA grants, including the elderly, child headed houses and grant awaiting beneficiaries will be prioritised.

Members of the public can phone 0800 220 250 for DSD general queries, and 0860 142 142 for donation requests and offers between 7am and 4pm (Monday-Friday), send a Please Call Me to 079 769 1207, or email covid19donate@westerncape.gov.za

Date: 05 April 2020

Yesterday (04 April 2020), Provincial Treasury approved the allocation of R53 million additional funding for emergency food relief programmes that will run across the Western Cape.

Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde said: “We know that the lockdown is tough on everyone and is impacting on the livelihoods of many families across the Western Cape. That is why we are working hard to ensure that no-one goes hungry during this difficult time and that we are all able to play our part to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. We have therefore taken a number of emergency steps to ensure our residents get the nutrition they need.”
The allocation of funds for the emergency food provision plan includes:

• R20 million to distribute 50 000 food parcels, each of which will support a family of four for one month. The Department of Social Development will allocate these funds to selected NGOs to prepare and distribute the food parcels.
• R5 million to the Department of Social Development for delivery of an additional 10 000 cooked meals per day for one month.
• R18 million to the Department of Education to initiate a special school feeding program from 8 April until 20 April, which will target the 485 000 existing school feeding scheme beneficiaries with one takeaway meal a day at approximately 1 000 schools.
• R10 million to increase the number of beneficiaries receiving food at existing Department of Social Development feeding schemes to 6 520 people.

The Department of Social Development has also reactivated the Early Childhood Development (ECD) feeding schemes at the majority of the 1 100 ECDs funded by the department. This will feed up to 80 000 children a day once fully up and running.

Premier Winde continued: “This is a welcome boost that will widen our existing nutritional safety net to provide hundreds of thousands more people who need it most with cooked meals and food parcels.”
Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez added, “Only a whole-of-society approach through the efforts of all spheres of society can help curb the pressure we experience on our available services. In this regard, our NGO partners are critical to helping us deliver this feeding programme during this difficult time, and the existing network in place will ensure that we can get food to those who need it most, as quickly as possible.”

Minister of Education, Debbie Schäfer further added, “We look forward to working with schools and service providers to supply meals to as many of our school children as possible who normally qualify for the national school feeding programme. This is a time when we need to stand together as a province and as a country in protecting those among us who need extra help.

“The National School Nutrition Programme feeds approximately 483 000 of our poorer learners. We need to get to as many learners as possible in this very difficult time.”

More information about these feeding programmes will be provided by Minister Fernandez and Minister Schäfer this week. All necessary measures will be taken to ensure the safety and health of those involved in the implementation of the food relief programmes, including social distancing.

Media Queries: Francine Higham Cell: 071 087 5150 Email: francine.higham@westerncape.gov.za