Cape Town - A year after the province’s first confirmed case of Covid-19 was announced, public and private sector hospitals across the province are full, not due to Covid-19, but because of a rapid increase in trauma cases after restrictions on the sale of alcohol were lifted.
Provincial head of health Dr Keith Cloete made the disclosure at a news conference marking the day a Cape Town man was admitted to Tygerberg Hospital as the Western Cape’s first confirmed case of the pandemic.
Dr Cloete said: “When the first restrictions on alcohol were lifted there was an increase in cases, with all the restrictions being lifted, there has been a more rapid increase in cases and actually a lot of alcohol-related trauma is in our hospitals as we speak.”
“You will remember at the peak 35% of all the cases in our hospitals were Covid-19 related, as of yesterday (Wednesday), only 7% of the cases in our hospitals are Covid-19 which is just about 1 000 people across public and private sector hospitals are still in hospital with Covid-19.”
“This doesn’t mean our hospitals are not full, it just means that the hospitals are still full but not due to Covid-19. The hospitals are full because the alcohol ban has been lifted,” said Dr Cloete.
Speaking at the same event, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said: “It has been a period of great loss and heartbreak for many people across our province, as 11 319 people have lost their lives to Covid-19. 122 of those who died were healthcare workers, who went bravely to the front line to help save the lives of others.”
She said: “Looking forward, the best way we can honour those who we have lost since March 11, 2020 is to keep on saving lives in the year ahead. Vaccines are bringing real hope, but we need to continue ensuring we keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from Covid-19 until this pandemic ends.”
Elsewhere, ANC provincial health spokesperson Rachel Windvogel criticised the province’s handling of the pandemic.
Windvogel said: “The province made a deliberate choice to prioritise the economy over saving lives.”
“We will not forget the sins of calling for the opening of borders when all other countries globally were closing them. We will not forget how they threatened to go to court for lifting the ban on sale of cigarettes and alcohol, despite obvious risk of fanning the Covid-19 fires.”
Good Party secretary-general Brett Herron said: “We have lost 11 319 lives in the Western Cape. This is obviously devastating for so many families.”
“The Western Cape health professionals have done us proud. We must thank them for the massive sacrifices they have made and for the risks they have taken to treat Covid-19 patients and to fight for every life.”
Covid-19 Ad-Hoc Committee chairperson Mireille Wenger (DA) said: “The best practical way we, as a legislature, can show our gratitude to healthcare workers is to monitor and push the government at all levels for the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines.”
Cape Argus