Cape Town - Premier Alan Winde has warned that even though the province’s Covid-19 infection numbers continue their downward trajectory, the public needs to guard against the risks of the Easter weekend becoming a super-spreader event.
Speaking at last week’s digital news conference, Winde said: “Our numbers in the province are still looking good and I’m happy to report that on Wednesday we recorded no deaths from Covid-19.
“However, we must all understand that there is still a risk in the upcoming Easter weekend. Everything we’re doing now is in an effort to push the possible third wave as far back as possible so we don’t make the Easter weekend a super-spreader event,”
“We already have an environment in place where we restrict gatherings, and we need to make sure that we adhere to this and stick to the rules about physical distancing, washing hands, wearing masks and sanitising, thus mitigating that risk,” said Winde.
Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said: “I want to remind everyone that March 27 last year was when the president announced the lockdown and a year later we are still in lockdown.
“While we appreciate the motivation behind the lockdown, as a health system we were forced to pause interventions such as elective surgeries and some therapies. At the time we didn’t know that a year later these interventions would still be on pause.”
She said this hiatus had not been ideal and there were fears that the action might have a dire impact on communities and individuals in the future.
Head of Health Dr Keith Cloete said: “Provincially we are approaching, but have not yet reached, the situation seen between the first and second waves last year.
“In the metro cases decreased by 20% from March 12 to March 19. However Mitchells Plain showed an increase in case numbers related to an outbreak in a hospital ward there that has now been contained. The rest of the metro is showing a decline in cases.”
As to how health workers had been reacting to the vaccines in terms of side effects, Cloete said so far there had been no major side effects. There had been minor ones such as a little swelling for some people where they received the injection, some aches and pains, and some people feeling a little feverish for a day or two.
“However those are the reactions that were expected to come with the vaccine,” said Cloete.
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