Cape Town - The third wave may be flattening, but the public must continue to adhere to Covid-19 protocols, as restricted testing and the ongoing taxi violence could be influencing the exact number of infections in the Western Cape.
“Most sub-districts were seeing a plateau in case numbers this last week, which may be artificial, and due to a range of factors including restricted testing criteria and the recent taxi violence. A similar plateau in case numbers is being seen in the rural districts as well,” the province’s head of health Dr Keith Cloete said on Thursday.
The exception was the Central Karoo, which continued to see an increase in case numbers, he added.
Despite the plateau, Cloete said the number of people being hospitalised continued to increase in both the public and private sectors, with 3 010 patients currently admitted.
There were 32 730 active infectious cases in the province, 1 358 more than the previous week.
This had coupled with a continued steep increase in deaths, exceeding the peak of the first wave, with about 82 deaths per day.
There had also been an increase in trauma cases, Cloete added.
“The recent taxi violence, within the context of a baseline restricted alcohol availability and level 4 lockdown, has resulted in a 9.1% increase in total trauma presentations (week on week) to our hospital emergency centres.”
Premier Alan Winde cautioned residents to continue being vigilant.
“The Western Cape is starting to see a flattening of the third wave and that this is happening below the second wave peak. We are closely monitoring this data to see if the trend continues, but it is the first, very early sign that we are starting to peak in the Western Cape.
“I do, however, continue to urge residents to adhere strictly to the lifesaving behaviours that we have learnt since the start of the pandemic, as hospitalisations and deaths – which track behind new cases – continue to increase. We still have to save lives, by keeping the curve as flat as possible.”
Eligible age groups were encouraged to keep registering for their vaccines to ensure that the goal of herd immunity is achieved.
To date a total of 884 917 vaccines have been administered in the province.
To register visit http://vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za/ or WhatsApp the word REGISTER to 0600 123456. Dial *134*832*ID number# if you don’t have internet access.
Cape Times