Charles Molele
Gauteng remains the epicentre of COVID-19, with 930 of the 2 506 national confirmed cases reported since the outbreak of the pandemic, said Premier David Makhura during a virtual media briefing of the Provincial Command Council.
Makhura said that of the 34 South Africans who died of COVID-19, five came from Gauteng.
“You may recall that before the lockdown, 52% of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 cases in South Africa were in Gauteng. As of 15th April, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in our province constitute 37% of national total,” he said.
The district breakdown of the 930 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Gauteng are as follows:
- Johannesburg:558
- Ekurhuleni: 161
- Tshwane: 104
- West Rand: 35
- Sedibeng: 8
Makhura said the national lockdown has significantly slowed down the infection rate and stopped the importation of cases that were coming through O.R. Tambo International Airport and other ports of entry.
“We are comforted and encouraged by the fact that 479 patients have recovered from COVID-19. This means that 51.5% of those who were infected have recovered. However, we are not complacent because the journey to the peak is still long,” said Makhura.
“Currently, 101 infected patients have been hospitalized, 15 of whom are in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This means 1.6% of all those infected have required intensive care. We have significantly improved contact tracing, scaled up the capacity to screen and increased the number of people tested. Out of the 6 431 identified contacts who were traced and put under isolation or quarantine, 2 394 have now been cleared of COVID-19.”
Since March 31, Community Health Workers and health professionals have screened 196 421 people, out of whom 2 591 people were referred for testing.
“The screening and testing is focusing on areas of high density of contacts, whether in suburbs or townships, and high vulnerability,” said Makhura.
“We are making significant progress in preparing our public health infrastructure for the period when the pandemic may peak. The modest flattening of the curve during the lockdown is giving us space to undertake this massive work.”
Makhura said the provincial government was currently preparing the public health infrastructure for the period when the pandemic may peak
“In this regard, we have cleared some of our existing hospitals and declared them COVID-19 facilities. This has helped us to make available 555 standard beds and 308 ICU beds,” he said.
He said new permanent wards were installed in Kopanong Hospital, Jubilee Hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath and George Mukhari Hospitals, adding that this would add 800 new beds, to be used for different purposes.
“This intervention will help speed-up our existing plans to increase capacity in these facilities using alternative building technology,” said Makhura.
“Two days ago, MEC for Health, Dr Bandile Masuku, unveiled the first phase of the NASREC facility which will have 500 new beds. All these interventions will create an additional 2 163 beds which will be used for different purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.”
“This week we received a generous donation of 30 000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Bank of China. This will go a long way towards ensuring that our health workers are protected.”
(Compiled by Inside Politics staff)
