Cape Town - Over 4 000 people have died in the province due to Covid-19.
This was stated in the daily Covid-19 pandemic update by Premier Alan Winde.
To date, 4009 Capetonians have succumbed to the disease. The province reported 2 805 active cases, 106 700 confirmed cases and 99 886 recoveries, as of 1pm on Wednesday.
The number of tests conducted was 494 415. At present, 693 have been hospitalised, with 130 patients in ICU or high care.
There remains 2 437 confirmed cases unallocated, with 2 263 recoveries.
The Western Cape Covid-19 data dashboard, developed by a team in the Department of Health, has been shortlisted in the New Generation social and digital media awards, in the category "Best use of technical innovation".
“This is the only government department to be shortlisted across any of the award categories, and our dashboard finds itself in good company amid work from some of South Africa's largest brands and companies.
“The dashboard was built so that the Western Cape Government could share reliable data with members of the public, that they could use to keep themselves informed throughout the pandemic,” Winde said.
“It allows anyone to see data and statistics for the province at a glance. It is updated daily, showing the number of cases, and recoveries per sub-district, as well as the number of tests conducted and the total number of deaths recorded.”
The premier added that the dashboard has also recently been updated with additional features which allow residents to see the number of active cases by sub-district, recovered cases by sub-district, recoveries per 100 000 and total cases by sub-district.
“Since its launch at the end of April, the dashboard has had over 1.3 million unique visitors which demonstrates its value and usefulness to the residents of the Western Cape.
“As a government, our response to Covid-19 has been evidence driven and data led, and the dashboard is example of how we have used innovation and big data to make information accessible to the public.
“We send our congratulations to the team involved, and wish them well for the winners' announcements, which will be made later this month.”
Kanana residents move into their new homes:
On Tuesday, Winde added that more residents from the Kanana informal settlement in Gugulethu had moved to the Forest Village Development Project.
He said the mixed-use development consisted of units catering for beneficiaries of different income levels and varying needs, and included Breaking New Ground and Finance Linked Individual Subsidy units.
Fifty-one beneficiaries had moved from Kanana as part of the province’s de-densification process since the start of the lockdown, and 126 of the 150 intended beneficiaries had already moved to Forest Village.
Fewer people had been accessing health-care services for non-Covid-19-related interventions in the province while health care was being geared to prepare for the pandemic.
With the peak of the virus coming to a close, the department of health was ramping up other health-care services and urging residents to take up immunisation for children.
“Immunisations are vital in helping to prevent serious childhood illnesses such as measles, polio and TB. Many of these illnesses can be life-threatening, but they can also be prevented through vaccinations,” said Winde.
Cape Argus