Premier Alan Winde on Coronavirus Covid-19 update for 4 June

As of 1pm on 4 June, the Western Cape has 11469 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of  26 386 confirmed cases and 14 917 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 1697 (512 recovered)

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 42 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 643. We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Health Systems Preparedness:

Last week, we released the data from our most recent scenario planning exercise and made the decision that we would adjust our provisioning for the peak of COVID-19 in the province, in accordance with the MASHA model, which is the national epidemiological model.

Under this scenario planning exercise- our initial planning projections and the 1428 beds we were able to prepare- will fall short. For this reason, cabinet has now given the go ahead to explore the creation of an additional 800 beds, including the staff to attend to those beds, at CTICC 2. This will give us a cumulative total of 2227 additional intermediate beds in the system.

The CTICC 1 hospital will officially be opened tomorrow. Over the past week, staff have been on site for orientation and the facility will accept its first patients on Monday. The Khayelithsa Thusong hospital, built by Medicins Sans Frontiers, is already in operation.

Our other planned facilities at Sonstraal in the Cape Winelands, and the 330 bed facility at Brackengate, are also currently under construction.

Critical care:

The MASHA model indicates that there will be a shortage of critical care beds in South Africa and in the Western Cape.

Even more important than the bed itself, or the availability of ventilators, is the availability of trained ICU or high care staff. In the public sector, we have 135 beds available to us, but this is constrained by the availability of staff, allowing us to only use about 100 of these.

There are plans in place to bring online an additional 100 beds in the public sector, and plans are now underway to contract additional beds for public sector patients in the private sector.

The Western Cape Government is currently in the process of negotiating to contract 300 private ICU or high care beds after a tariff agreement was reached yesterday between the private sector and the National Minister of Health.

Critical care beds will however remain under pressure in the Western Cape which is why the province is taking steps to protect the most high risk groups, and why it is vitally important that everyone play their part in slowing the spread of this virus, especially to protect those most vulnerable, including the elderly and those with co-morbidities.

High flow nasal oxygen:

Teams at Tygerberg Hospital have recorded some encouraging results in the use of high flow oxygen to treat patients in place of the use of ventilators.

Of the six earliest COVID-19 patients placed on ventilators at the hospital, all six did not make it. However, high flow oxygen was administered to seven more patients, and of these, six were able to recover without the use of a ventilator.

Since then, 114 patients have presented to Tygerberg for critical care, of which 70% met the criteria for the use of high flow nasal oxygen. Of these, a further 70% have recovered.

This therapy will become a critical part of our healthcare response, creating an alternative to care on a ventilator. We also believe that this therapy can be administered in general wards, under the correct supervision, which will minimize the need for critical care beds.

The therapy requires specific infrastructure and equipment and we have placed orders in order to start offering the treatment elsewhere, starting with the Groote Schuur hospital.

This innovative therapy could become a game changer in how we treat critical patients going forward and is an important part of our preparedness response.

Quarantine and Isolation:

While the Department of Health has been preparing its systems, the Department of Public Works and Transport in the province has been working to increase the number of beds available for quarantine and isolation.

The province currently has 3848 beds available in both private and government owned facilities, with a further 9682 ready for activation (8933 in private sector and 749 in public). An additional 788 beds are available for those who have the capacity to pay for quarantine and isolation facilities.

We are currently looking at ways to ramp up the available facilities- using both provincially or municipally owned facilities as well as turn-key solutions such as hotels and the hospitality industry.

Red Dot Taxi Service:

The Red Dot service, a partnership with the taxi industry, has since its inception on 18 May, transported approximately 6000 healthcare workers in a safe, and sanitized manner. The taxis are sanitized after each trip, only operate at 50% capacity and users of the service must wear masks. This is one of the ways we are working to protect our healthcare workers and ensure they are not unnecessarily exposed to the virus while commuting.

From this week, the service has also started to provide transport for patients to quarantine and isolation facilities.

Alcohol and the healthcare system:

This week, the national government lifted the ban on the sale of alcohol. The Western Cape’s emergency and trauma units have already noted an increase in the number of alcohol related injuries and incidents.

With our hospital system experiencing added volumes as a result of COVID-19, alcohol related injuries- whether they be as a result of violence or traffic accidents- compete for care in our hospitals.

My appeal to everyone is to drink alcohol responsibly to ensure that those who urgently need medical attention and care as a result of illness are able to receive it and to become well again.