The Western Cape has 9 171 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 97 013 confirmed cases and 84 529 recoveries as of August 6. An additional 48 deaths have been recorded, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 3265.
See the breakdown below:
During his update on COVID-19, Premier Alan Winde extended a special thanks to Gift of the Givers.
“I would like to express my appreciation to the Gift of the Givers, who have donated R10-million towards renovating and equipping an entire ward of the Mitchells Plain hospital which will be used to treat COVID-19 patients. The ward, now named the Freesia Ward, was handed over to the Department of Health today,” said Winde.
The donation will allow the hospital to open up additional bed capacity for non-COVID-19 services, and use the 60 bed Freesia ward for COVID-19 services. This generous donation will therefore allow the government to provide appropriate care to the community of Mitchells Plain in line with the commitment to start re-opening more non-COVID related healthcare services over the next few months.
“We thank the Gift of the Givers and the many organisations who have partnered with us throughout this pandemic. These relationships have helped to ensure that the Western Cape has been able to provide treatment and care for the sick, and will help to ensure that we are able to roll out the full basket of healthcare services in the coming weeks and months,” added Winde.
Winde also noted the exceptional work of healthcare workers at George hospital. The team discharged 12 patients from their COVID-19 ward in one week despite the hospital facing increased service pressure, especially in its critical care services.
“On behalf of all of these patients and their loved ones, I would like to thank all of the staff at the hospital. The Garden Route has been seeing an increase in new infections and hospitalisations as the region continues to see an upward trajectory on its infection curve. I appeal to all residents of the Garden Route to take precautions to ensure that we are able to flatten the curve, ensure that our hospitals and healthcare workers are not overwhelmed, and ultimately save lives.”
Winde mentioned that locals can continue to contribute toward stemming the spread of the virus simply by staying home and adhering to regulations. He further noted that Minister of Transport and Public Works, Bonginkosi Madikizela will be in the Garden Route from August 7, where he will be assessing COVID-19 compliance on public transport and conducting roadblocks.
Picture: Pixabay
