Increase in Eastern Cape Covid-19 cases concerns Mkhize

With the number of Covid-19 cases in the country set to top the 3 500 mark, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Tuesday expressed concern about the increasing number of positive cases being reported in the Eastern Cape.

Speaking after a tour of health facilities in the province, Mkhize said the number of confirmed cases in South Africa now stands at 3 465, with 345 of these in the Eastern Cape.

The province has seen a double-digit percentage increase in reported cases over the last day. On Monday it reported its first five coronavirus-related deaths. This influenced Mkhize’s decision to visit the province, one of SA’s most impoverished regions.

The minister did not report any further Covid-19 deaths in the country on Tuesday, but again warned of practices around funerals that could be contributing to the spread of the virus.

“Today [Tuesday] we visited the Eastern Cape where we have observed a rapid rise in the number of confirmed cases, and this raised a concern,” he said in a statement.

“The biggest risk of spread that has been identified [are] the cultural practices occurring at funerals.

“We engaged with the provincial executive led by Premier Oscar Mabuyane together with the Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba,” he added.

“We immediately took a decision to urgently deploy more medical experts including senior epidemiologists, analysts and field consultants to reinforce the provincial team, led by Dr Kerrigan McCarthy from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).”

WHO help

Mkhize said the health department has also secured the assistance of the World Health Organisation in deploying more clinicians and experts in the Eastern Cape and other parts of the country. He noted that the department has also started sending senior officials to do “proper audits” of available personal protective equipment and other items used in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.

“This is to ensure the safety and adequate protection of our health workers who are at the forefront. We reiterate that no health worker should be exposed to the risk of infection. They must all be adequately trained on infection prevention and control (IPC) and [must] be protected at all times,” he said.

The total number of Covid-19 tests conducted to date in South Africa now stands 126 937, with 5 427 of these done in the last 24 hours.

Gauteng still has the highest number of confirmed cases in the country, now at 1 199.

The Western Cape has now also surpassed the 1 000 mark, with 1 010 cases.

KwaZulu-Natal has the third highest number of cases, at 671. This province has the highest number of Covid-19 deaths (23).

The Eastern Cape has the fourth highest number of confirmed cases as well as deaths, followed by the Free State, Limpopo, North West, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. There are 43 so-called ‘unallocated’ cases.