The Western Cape has recorded 676 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection as of April 15.
In a statement, Premier Alan Winde confirmed that 37 COVID-19 positive people are being treated in hospitals in the province, with 18 of these in intensive care.
The Western Cape also opened another one of the 17 planned testing and triage centres, joining the two already operating at Tygerberg and Paarl hospitals. The centre in Mitchells Plain aims to take pressure off emergency centres such as hospitals and clinics. Testing and triage centres are also planned for Khayelitsha and the Garden Route.
“The facilities have been designed with social distancing in mind and have been set up so that symptomatic and asymptomatic patients are seated in separate areas. They can also be easily converted, should the need arise, to create additional bed space,” said Winde.
“We are currently exploring the use of sites across the province where temporary care, quarantine or isolation facilities can be created, should the need arise.”
The provincial breakdown of the COVID-19 cases across the province is as follows.
Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:
– Western: 206
– Southern: 150
– Northern: 34
– Tygerberg: 62
– Eastern: 43
– Klipfontein: 37
– Mitchells Plain: 18
– Khayelitsha: 21
Total: 571
Sub Districts Non-Metro:
– Garden Route Bitou: 5
– Garden Route Knysna: 13
– Garden Route George :13
– Garden Route Hessequa: 5
– Garden Route Mossel Bay: 17
– Garden Route Oudtshoorn: 2
– Cape Winelands Stellenbosch: 16
– Cape Winelands Drakenstein: 6
– Cape Winelands Breede Valley: 7
– Cape Winelands Langeberg: 1
– Cape Winelands Witzenberg: 1
– Overberg Overstrand: 10
– Overberg Theewaterskloof: 1
– West Coast Saldanha Bay Municipality: 3
– West Coast Swartland: 2
– Unallocated: 3
Community testing will continue tomorrow. So far a total of 17 275 people have been screened in the province in the first week of testing.
“We thank those communities where people have come out in their numbers to be screened and tested. This helps us to identify possible pockets of infection, and move swiftly to start contact tracing, isolating and quarantining,” said Winde.
Screening will be conducted in the following places tomorrow:
Metro:
Northern Tygerberg Subdistrict: Kraaifontein (Ward 6), Belhar
Southern Western Subdistrict: Imizamo Yethu, Du Noon
Klipfontein Mitchells Plain Subdistrict: Gugulethu, Nyanga, Silvertown, Heinz Park, Manenberg
Khayelitsha Eastern Subdistrict: Mfuleni, Macassar, Site C (Khayelitsha)
Non-metro:
Cape Winelands: Mbekweni, Drommedaris
Garden Route: Asla Park, Notina Street Block, Zoar, Amalienstein, Vanwyksdorp, Calitzdorp, Ladismith.
Picture: Pixabay
