Pretoria - Despite Covid-19 positive daily cases dropping from more than 2 000 to 200 in recent days, this does not mean residents should let their guard down, the City of Tshwane’s Lovey Pule has said.
The deputy director for communicable disease control in the metro said while the numbers had significantly dropped, there were still worrisome areas.
Pule said it was for this reason that the metro embarked on a screening and testing campaign starting from yesterday at the Quagga Centre.
Similar campaigns will also be held in Hammanskraal, Akasia, Ekangala and Atteridgeville.
“The reason for these areas being singled out is because we are seeing a number of positive cases coming; we always look at situational reports from the province, look at where we have numbers of positive cases and identify where interventions are needed.
“We also have areas that do not have a high number of positive cases, but there are areas of concern. As such, there is a team targeting wards in Soshanguve, Ga-Rankuwa and Winterveldt, doing educational campaigns and screening, and if found with symptoms, a person is referred to the nearest clinic.”
Pule said their department had been on guard even before the ban on alcohol, which did have an impact on numbers, and were still on high alert to quickly attend to areas of concern.
“At the moment, since the end of January, the cases went down; they were lingering at around 300, and from February 4 we have been at about 250 and 200. We are able to manage this because the numbers are low. We have been using different means to reach out to people in areas of high traffic.”
MMC for health Sakkie du Plooy said it was important to continue with the screening and testing, and the metro had to be prepared if there was a third wave coming as the capital sees a lot of eco activity and travelling.
“We have identified the hot spots and we will keep getting the mobile truck out to service these areas so we can screen and test all as necessary. This helps alleviate the numbers going into clinics.”
He said the western part of the metro had been the highest in terms of numbers since the beginning, and ”We need to do all that we can to bring the Covid cases down and make sure that there is compliance”.
Du Plooy said he was not worried with the ban on alcohol being eased resulting in positive numbers as more people go out.
“I know when alcohol is involved some people disregard their safety. We understand the industry and the economic importance of it in terms of job provision. I think the reason all the numbers came down is because people are more cognisant of the virus and its effects on society, and there is more discipline, and despite the risk there is not high concern of numbers spiking.”
With the new variant proving to be more prevalent and deadly in young people, Du Plooy said they were keeping an eye out on areas that see large crowds, such as liquor outlets, to avoid them being super-spreaders.
“We cannot police everyone, but if members of the public take matters into their own hands, such as adhering to regulations and wearing their masks, (there will be no problem),” said Du Plooy.
Pretoria News