THERE are at least 100 deaths from Covid-19 a day in the Western Cape since January 1, while the province will probably exceed the 10 000 mark by the end of this week.
Yesterday the province had recorded 9 054 deaths up from the previous Saturday’s figure of 8 067.
Hospitalisations have also been steadily increasing over a seven day period, from 3 178 last Friday to 3 543. This includes the number of patients in intensive care units, which stood at 387 on Friday.
Given the increased demand for hospitalisation experienced by the province’s hospitals, Emergency Medical Services have stepped in to alleviate the pressure.
Traditionally, ambulance fleets are allocated to certain areas to assist with emergency care and now, with increased bed demand, EMS crews are working to alleviate pressure at particular hospitals.
“We basically prioritised the health platform and re-organised the workflow to create fluidity in patient movement, with the emphasis on creating bed space for those patients whose health condition required escalation,” said EMS Acting Director, Stewart Taylor.
“The challenge of a rapid increase in admissions was also felt in the rural areas, specifically the Garden Route and Cape Winelands. Because the distance to travel between rural areas is much bigger, the team decided to pool resources in a specific area to support under-pressure facilities in freeing up space. By ambulances being pooled, it results in more being available in a specific area to transfer patients between hospitals.”
While some parts of the province are still riding out its second peak, the situation has stabilised in the Garden Route where the peak appears to have passed. The Bitou’s Community Covid-19 Committee has identified its compliance campaign as an effective aid to the municipality.
“The fact that Bitou was declared a hotspot over the festive season and the level 3 lockdown regulations posed its own compliance challenges. Monitoring and enforcement efforts had to be increased,” read the municipality’s statement.
“The efforts of this team made a massive contribution to Covid-19 infections in Bitou dropping significantly over the past two weeks. However, efforts can only be effective if residents become more responsible and comply with protocols and regulations.”
Bitou municipality at last count had 2 554 cumulative cases, with 2 274 recoveries.