ANC: High infections the fault of government

THE ANC says it’s no surprise that Gugulethu and Khayelitsha are in the top-10 most infected suburbs for Covid-19 in the Western Cape, blaming provincial government policies for the high infection rate.

Rachel Windvogel, ANC provincial spokesperson on health, said: “We have been saying that the outbreak of Covid-19 has exposed the disparities between the rich and poor in the country, and it has exposed our inequalities.

“If you check the list it is no surprise that areas like Gugulethu and Khayelitsha have thousands of cases while other areas like Tokai and Rondebosch, for instance, record less than 100 cases.”

Windvogel said the provincial government had “been found wanting when it comes to tracking of contacts”, adding that “this led to many undetected cases spreading in densely populated areas”.

“The government’s new testing strategy will further exacerbate the widespread of infections undetected,” she said.

According to the provincial dashboard, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha were the leading suburbs for positive Covid-19 cases with 1 859 and 1 488 cases, respectively.

Speaking in Ocean View where she was opening a neighbourhood-based self-isolation community care centre, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said: “Whether we are going up or down, or flat in the peak, we don’t rest because we see the light at the end of tunnel. We rest when we see fewer infections, fewer hospitalisation, fewer deaths of at least less than 10.

“No community will be left behind.”