Cape Town – From Monday, Western Cape residents can expect to be screened for Covid-19 in the comfort of their homes.
This forms part of the government’s intensified drive to stop the spread of the virus, which has infected 393 people in the province.
The latest to test positive were the seventh case in Mitchells Plain, a second in Khayelitsha, and another University of Cape Town student, bringing the number to six at the institution.
The number of cases countrywide stands at 1 462.
The provincial Health Department will undertake targeted community screening and testing, using the identified geo-located cases of local transmission in vulnerable and high-risk communities, starting from the Metro and fanning out.
This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Monday that 10 000 field workers will be visiting homes in villages, towns and cities to screen residents for Covid-19 symptoms.
The Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Klipfontein areas were of greatest concern in the metro, said provincial Head of Health, Dr Keith Cloete.
“Our concern is that we might have community transmission in those areas,” he said.
Cloete said community health workers and NGOs would collectively embark on the community-based screening and testing.
If required, tests would be conducted at mobile testing labs.
The fieldworkers doing the screening and testing would be clearly identified, to avoid scammers taking advantage of the situation.
“We want to especially target those areas and go into households where cases have already been documented of local transmission. Our strategy as of Monday is to identify all the areas we are going into. We are putting all the logistics together so there will be screening, access to testing and, out of that, there will be a screening of someone who requires isolation and quarantine out of that process,” Cloete said.
During the digital briefing yesterday on the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Premier Alan Winde said: “While infections have grown more slowly here than elsewhere, we are seeing trends that are cause for concern.
“Last Sunday, we announced our first cases in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.
“We are also seeing an increase in the number of local transmissions and increasing admissions to hospital.
“As of this morning (yesterday), 20 people in the Western Cape had been admitted to hospital, with seven in intensive care facilities.”
Khayelitsha Development Forum chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said they were concerned following reports of the second case of a female testing positive for Covid-19.
“The fact that the two contacts come
from two areas, Town-Two and Ilitha
Park, can mean only one thing, that
Khayelitsha is under siege of Covid-19.
“We’re calling on all businesses
and churches operating in
Khayelitsha to come forward
with whatever help they can.
Communities need to be empowered
to communicate the message about
the coronavirus in languages they
use and understand,” he said.
UCT spokesperson Elijah
Moholola said a third student had
been diagnosed in Eswatini on
Sunday. Three staff members had
tested positive for the virus.
Moholola said the student was
receiving medical support and
identified contacts had been traced
and advised to go into quarantine.
“All individuals who tested
positive immediately went into
self-isolation for 14 days, and all
their identified contacts went into
quarantine as soon as they were
traced,” Moholola said.
The first case was a staff member and the second a UCT-based visiting
researcher. The third person was a
project manager who worked in the
same department as the second case.
The fourth was a postgraduate
student, and last Friday another
student tested positive in KwaZulu-Natal.
Stellenbosch University and the
University of the Western Cape each
have one confirmed case.
The Cape Peninsula University of
Technology has yet to register a case.
In a message to students yesterday,
the Dean of Student Affairs, Prem
Coopoo, said: “It has been noted
that many residence students are not
adhering to the national guidelines
on social distancing.
“There are reports of several
incidents where students are
socialising in groups of three or more
and of students leaving residences
for long periods of time.
“This now calls for more drastic
measures so as to adhere to the
national guidelines and in turn limit
the threat of infection to the CPUT
community and to contribute to the
challenge to reduce deaths from the
coronavirus in our country.”
The university announced
revised lockdown rules, saying the gates or residence doors would
only be opened once a day from
9am to 12pm. Students would not
be allowed back in residence after
12pm.
“If we do not join all South
Africans in the call to ‘flatten the
curve’, these rules may further be
reviewed and become even more
drastic to protect all students and
staff….
“We are taking the threat of
infection seriously,” said Coopoo.