Community testing a go
Concerns of muggings, physical distancing for Western Cape screening teams
COMMUNITY screenings for the coronavirus are in full swing across the Western Cape.
Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo was in Parkwood yesterday for door-todoor visits to educate and encourage residents to get tested.
Premier Alan Winde, provincial health head Keith Cloete, and the joint operations centre’s Wayne Smith also provided updates via Facebook on the province’s response to the Covid19 pandemic.
The Western Cape has recorded 591 positive cases in the city, 107 in rural districts, and four unallocated, said Cloete.
“We’ve screened 28 718 to date with a big uptake after the Easter weekend, and we’ve sent 2 102 tests to the laboratory to be examined,” he added.
“In terms of our overall programme, we’ve done 12 785 tests to give us the 702 positive cases, and we’ve had 205 people who have recovered and are ready to be de-isolated.
“We’ve geared our community screenings and testing to specific cases where we know there are positive cases so that we can detect other cases linked to those cases.
“There are specific pockets in the metro where we’ve seen an increase in cases. Our teams have been deployed to find associated cases for local transmissions in those pockets.
“Once we find people who are positive in vulnerable communities, it’s impossible for them to self-isolate and quarantine and that’s why we’ve stepped up a big programme on why we have to have designated quarantine and isolation facilities.
“Communities have welcomed care workers into the communities,” Cloete said. “They’ve made themselves available to be interviewed and to participate in the process.
“We’ve had a few concerns, the most serious being that one of the teams on Wednesday in one of the areas was mugged. That team had to terminate their activities and we now work in that area under police escort.
“That is really an unfortunate situation, like our ambulance attacks.
“Another major concern has been adhering to physical distancing when screenings and tests are being conducted… Wherever people gather it becomes a potential place where you can spread Covid-19.”