The Western Cape has become the epicentre of the outbreak, and the tardy response of health officials in the Eastern Cape has Minister Zweli Mkhize worried but optimistic.
Some provinces or even localised districts may stay in tighter lockdowns than other parts of the country as South Africa embarks on a risk-based approach to reopening the economy and allowing the limited movement of people.
“There’s a change in pattern. We are seeing cluster outbreaks in workplaces that were originally identified as essential services. So, to look at it, we need additional support for that province [Western Cape],” Mkhize said. “It looks like some of the work that has been done is quite promising. The numbers [of cases] are increasing. But we have to ultimately concentrate on how we contain the spread,” Mkhize said.
The health department’s acting director general, Anban Pillay, warned MPs that reopening commercial and industrial sectors too quickly could have the opposite effect of revitalising the economy. “Our ICU utilisation rates are still fairly low. Those on ventilation are still fairly low. Across the provinces, there is not a high demand for high care relative to when you get into a surge period, so the image is that our hospitals are currently not overwhelmed at this stage,” Pillay said.
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