Media Release: Update on the coronavirus-community screening to resume tomorrow
13 April 2020
As of 00h01 on 13 April, the Western Cape has recorded 628 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection.
Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:
Western 192
Southern 139
Northern 30
Tygerberg 49
Eastern 39
Klipfontein 34
Mitchells Plain 15
Khayelitsha 14
Total 512
Sub Districts Non-Metro:
Garden Route Bitou 6
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 6
Cape Winelands Langeberg 1
Overberg Overstrand 9
Overberg Theewaterskloof 1
West Coast Saldanha Bay Municipality 3
West Coast Swartland 2
Unallocated: 16
*A note on today’s data: Due to updates in address data, two cases which appeared in yesterday’s update for Mossel Bay have been re-allocated to the metro region. Mossel Bay therefore currently stands at 17 cases.
There are currently 29 Covid-19 positive people being treated in hospitals in the province, with 15 of these in intensive care.
Community screening and testing:
Community screening and testing will resume in areas across the province tomorrow. We encourage those in communities where testing is occurring to make use of the opportunity. Screening and testing help us to identify pockets of infection, and allow our contact tracing teams to get to work quickly and work to stop the spread.
Tomorrow’s testing will be conducted in the following areas:
Cape Winelands: Mbekweni, Oliver Tambo
Garden Route: Asla Park, Mzathi Street Blocks
Metro: Bloekombos, Kraaifontein (ward 6), Delft, Bo-Kaap, Imizamo Yethu, Lotus River, Grassy Park, Gugulethu, Nyanga and Kleinvlei.
Screening sites may change at short notice in order to respond to needs as they arise.
Screening and testing is especially important in communities which are densely populated and in those with high numbers of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, or people with underlying medical conditions.
As a province, we have seen an uptick in the number of community transmissions, especially in the metro area. We therefore call on all of our residents to take precautions to keep themselves and their families safe. Residents are reminded that they should only leave their homes to purchase food, collect a social grant, go to the pharmacy, seek medical attention, or if they are employed to do an essential service.
When leaving home for these activities, it is vital that people practice social distancing, including leaving sufficient space in queues, and in other places like taxi ranks and bus stops. Make sure you wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, and if you are able to, wear a clean, cloth mask. Cloth masks must always be used in conjunction with other hygiene methods and must be carefully put on and taken off, using only the ties or strings. They should be washed and ironed after every use.
We also call on those businesses which are open at this time, to take hygiene seriously in order to protect their staff and their customers.
Third Thursday:
Due to the phenomenal public response to our First Thursday radio show, we will be hosting a Third Thursday show Question and Answer show between 6 and 7 pm this week. This will be an hour long show which will be facilitated at Bush Radio and simulcast across several stations across the province. Listeners will be able to call in on 021 448 6266, WhatsApp on 061 862 1065 or SMS keyword Covid-19 to 32158 followed by their question, name and area. Each SMS costs R1.00