WP passes Covid-19 peak

Premier welcomes confirmation that alert levels could be set by provinces

THE province had passed its Covid-19 peak with sufficient platform capacity and would be considering whether temporary field hospitals should remain open, said premier Alan Winde in his daily Covid-19 provincial update yesterday.

The MSF field hospital in Khayelitsha was already in the processes of closing, he said.

The province reported 7 416 active cases of Covid-19, 98868 confirmed cases and 87 998 recoveries as of 1pm yesterday.

To date, 3 454 people have succumbed to the virus and around 440 564 Covid-19 tests have been conducted.

At present, 1 196 people have been hospitalised with 247 patients in ICU or high care.

Winde welcomed the confirmation that alert levels could be determined at a provincial, metro and district level, as stated by the Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize in the Government Gazette published on Friday last week.

The ministerial advisory committee must advise the National Health minister regarding which alert level should be declared nationally, provincially, in a metropolitan area or a district.

“The Western Cape cabinet on Friday took the position that businesses which can open safely should be allowed to do so, and that the alcohol ban should be lifted, in conjunction with the implementation of smart measures aimed at reducing alcohol harms,” said Winde. “We have written to both minister Mkhize and Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to request a meeting where we will put forward these positions.

“It is imperative that we take decisive and immediate action to prevent an unemployment pandemic and further economic calamity.”

He said statistical data previously supplied by StatsSA showed the drastic impact the lockdown had had on the food and beverage industry, and that the closure of borders and initial ban on local travel had also had a significant impact on the tourism industry.

“In the Western Cape, we have seen a steady and sustained decline in the number of hospitalisations, with current numbers sitting below 1200, the lowest we have seen since June.

“Coupled with this, we have seen a greater percentage of tests come back negative, declining infections among health-care workers and a decline in the number of daily deaths,” he said.

It is imperative that we take decisive and immediate action

Alan Winde WESTERN CAPE PREMIER