Pretoria - Tshwane has seen a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, with an average of 740 new cases a day in the week since December 28.
In a statement, the city’s MMC for Health, Sakkie du Plooy said the city has 11 099 active cases and one one of the highest incidence rates in the country with 283 active cases per 100 000 of the population.
Tshwane was identified as one of four metros which were hotspots – along with West Rand District, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg – in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on December 28.
With more than 276 000 cases, Gauteng has the highest caseload of the nine provinces.
Regions of specific concern, according to Du Plooy, are Region 1, which includes Soshanguve, Mabopane, Ga-Rankuwa and Akasia, and Region 3, which includes Atteridgeville, Pretoria West, Moot and the CBD. Region 6, which includes Mamelodi and Pretoria East, has the third highest case load.
He warned that numbers could increase as residents return from other provinces, and said the city was on alert to prevent a situation where health services became overwhelmed.
South Africa topped the 30 000 mark in the number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 on Monday.
According to statistics released by the Department of Health, with an additional 434 deaths across the country on Monday, the total number reached 30 011.
The country has had more than one million confirmed cases of Covid-19 since March last year, with more than 900 000 people making a recovery.
Pretoria News