Premier Alan Winde on Coronavirus COVID-19 update for 22 Jun

Media Release: Update on the coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde

As of 1pm on 22 June, the Western Cape has 13 969 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 51 351 confirmed cases and 35 958 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 4034 (2090)

Data note:  As the province moves closer to the peak and the Department of Health is recording over 1000 new cases daily, it is not possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.

More data is available here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 25 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 1424. We send our condolences to their families and friends at this time.

Update on the COVID-19 awareness campaign:

Over the weekend, thousands of posters have been put up across the metro as part of our COVID-19 awareness campaign in our hotspot areas. Posters will continue to go up in the City of Cape Town and in our non-metro regions this week.

About 10 000 of these posters will be erected, forming part of the biggest public awareness campaign on record in the Western Cape. Their message in isiXhosa, English and Afrikaans is that by taking measures to keep ourselves safe such as staying at home, and wearing a mask, we are also able to protect our loved ones and family members who may be more at risk of infection.

Active cases:

The Western Cape currently has almost 14 000 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. The term "active case" refers to a patient who is currently infected. A case is considered closed when a person has recovered, or in the event of a death.

Recoveries significantly outnumber active cases in the province but we must still do everything we can to ensure that we are keeping safe, as those 14 000 people have the potential to infect many more people in their families and communities.

As a province, we are continuously re-assessing the data available to us to give us an indication of when the virus peak will occur. These models are predictions based on the best available data at the time, and it is impossible to pinpoint exactly when this will happen but by taking additional care now, and managing the number of active cases, we can help to slow the spread and help to save lives.

Our active case management strategy has focused on:

Screening and referral for testing of vulnerable people and households

Screening in old aged homes

Strengthening of our telephonic follow up of positive cases and contacts system

Referring residents to isolation and quarantine sites where self- isolation is not possible or viable

Early identification of high-risk cases for active case management.

Members of the public can contribute to reducing active cases by:

• Staying home as much as possible to avoid becoming infected, especially if you fall into one of the risk groups
• Practicing hygiene and social distancing
• Wearing a mask
• Avoiding gatherings
• Staying home if you feel ill
• Taking up isolation and quarantine in one of our facilities if you are not able to do this at home or run the risk of infecting loved ones living with you

Businesses re-opening:

This week, a number of personal care businesses which have not been able to trade for the duration of the lockdown will begin to trade again.

Many of these business owners and the people they employ have been significantly impacted by the lock down. Being able to trade again will help to ease the financial burden they have been suffering under, and give people the opportunity to start earning money to feed their families again.

While this is important for so many business owners and families across the province, we must not forget that we are still in the midst of a pandemic which has had, and will continue to have very serious consequences for many people. More sectors will also be coming online soon and I would like to make an appeal to these businesses to always act with the best interests of their clientele and their staff at heart and abide by the restrictions and regulations put in place to ensure maximum safety.

This means ensuring that facilities are available for hand washing or sanitizing and that surfaces are regularly cleaned to avoid your business becoming an infection site. You also need to make sure that you carefully manage the number of people on your business premises at any given time to allow for social distancing.

Customers must also act responsibly by wearing a mask and to stay at home if they feel unwell, rather than putting people at risk when frequenting any of these businesses or services. If you encounter businesses which are not complying with safety regulations, you can report them here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-business-safety-complaint-form