FILE PHOTO: CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 19: Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape premier candidate Alan Winde during a media briefing on September 19, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. Western Cape economic opportunities MEC Alan Winde has emerged as the DA’s preferred candidate to replace Helen Zille as premier after next year’s election. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan Live / Esa Alexander)
The Western Cape records ten more COVID-19 deaths
The province has close to two-thirds of infections in the country with the number of cases sitting at 8507, as of Saturday, 16 May 2020
FILE PHOTO: CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 19: Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape premier candidate Alan Winde during a media briefing on September 19, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. Western Cape economic opportunities MEC Alan Winde has emerged as the DA’s preferred candidate to replace Helen Zille as premier after next year’s election. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan Live / Esa Alexander)
The COVID-19 death toll in the Western Cape has risen to 147, Premier Alan Winde has said.
The figure is an increase of ten fatalities in the province, which remains the epicenter of the respiratory disease in the country.
The province has close to two-thirds of infections in the country with the number of cases sitting at 8507, as of Saturday, 16 May 2020.
“Today’s statistics show a considerable jump in new infections over the past 24 hours. There are a number of reasons for this large jump: as we have indicated before, the curve of the virus is moving faster in the Western Cape as a result of entrenched community transmission in some of the Western Cape’s hotspot areas”, Winde said in a statement.
The premier has also sent condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
There are currently 3 097 recoveries of the virus and out of 360 hospital admissions, 108 of them are in intensive or high care.
The Western Cape to engage National Command Council on combating strategy
The premier took part in a virtual meeting with the National Command Council which included other premiers, relevant ministers and President Cyril Ramaphosa as well as representatives from the South African Local Government Association.
The focus of the discussion was around the response to COVID-19 across the provinces, and the move towards alert level 3 of the lockdown. Winde said they had received a number of presentations including one from the National Department of Health.
“The Western Cape presented its hotspot strategy to the group, as the provincial response to the number of infections in nine geographical areas. These areas- in each of the City of Cape Town’s eight sub-districts, and in Witzenberg account for a large proportion of the Western Cape’s infections. Using the data and evidence available to us, we will be able to specifically target these areas with responses from across government departments”, Winde further said.
All of the information presented will be taken into the National Command Council Meeting to be held tomorrow, where further deliberations will take place.
Despite the alarming infection numbers in the province, Winde hopes to convince Ramaphosa to have the Western Cape move to level three of the lockdown.
The president has said most of the country would have progressed from level four of the lockdown at the end of May with the exception of some areas where infection rates have sky-rocketed.
