Media Release: Garden Route Health Platform Update

For Immediate Release
4 September 2020

 GARDEN ROUTE HEALTH PLATFORM UPDATE

As of 4 September  2020, the Garden Route District has 9070 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Cases 

Garden Route cases and recoveries per subdistrict.

• Bitou 579 cases; 534 recoveries
• Knysna 1370 cases; 1275 recoveries
• George 3352 cases; 3079 recoveries
• Hessequa 275 cases; 252 recoveries
• Kannaland 110 cases; 106 recoveries
• Mossel Bay 2172 cases; 1998 recoveries
• Oudsthoorn 1212 cases; 959 recoveries

The Garden Route has recorded 309 Covid-19 deaths.

Hospitalisation

From our latest available information, there are currently 97 patients admitted in public and private hospitals of which 17 are in High Care/ICU.

Isolation and quarantine

People who cannot isolate or quarantine safely at home (risk to themselves or exposure risk to others), can be referred to an isolation or quarantine facility.

Isolation facilities are for patients who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus (with mild to moderate symptoms) where they can recover. Quarantine facilities are for those have been exposed and are awaiting test results. These facilities are safe, have been made as comfortable as possible and you will receive free transport, meals, and a laundry service. PetroSA (West Camp) is currently the only activated isolation and quarantine facility in the Garden Route. More facilities have been identified and will be activated, if and when the need arises or capacity is exceeded at PetroSA. We currently have 13 people at the West Camp facility.

Catching up on the most urgent essential health services without risking patient and staff safety

While the health service platform must remain geared to deal with COVID-19 pandemic (including a possible second wave of infections), the Department of Health wants to scale up essential health services in a balanced manner.  The Department’s risk and impact based approach is guiding the services to be reintroduced identifying those services which have low risk yet high impact (such as immunisation services). These services which had reduced significantly during the COVID pandemic, will have a significant long term impact for those clients who had missed immunisations, follow-up appointments and scheduled non-emergency treatment.

Please note that currently all preventative services are offered:

• Women’s health (family planning, antenatal and post-natal care)
• Men’s health
• Child health(immunisations)
• Chronic disease management (TB, HIV, Diabetes, etc.)

-END-

Nadia Ferreira
Principal Communications Officer
Garden Route and Central Karoo Districts
Western Cape Government Health
Town Clinic,Plettenberg Bay
Tel: 076 379 5423
Email: Nadia.Ferreira@westerncape.gov.za
Website: www.westerncape.gov.za