Coronavirus - South Africa: Premier Alan Winde on Coronavirus COVID-19 cases for 10 August

Total confirmed COVID-19 cases 98656 Total recoveries 86861 Total deaths 3424 Total active cases (currently infected patients) 8371 Tests conducted 439776 Hospitalisations 1191 with 258 in ICU or high care

Cape Metro Sub-districts:

Sub-district Cases Recoveries Western 8297 7458 Southern 8594 7607 Northern 5737 5256 Tygerberg 12135 10942 Eastern 8995 8026 Klipfontein 8494 7576 Mitchells Plain 7778 6979 Khayelitsha 7892 7262 Total 67922 61106

Sub-districts:

District Sub-district Cases Recoveries Garden Route Bitou 491 375 Garden Route Knysna 1173 908 Garden Route George 2921 2333 Garden Route Hessequa 213 168 Garden Route Kannaland 71 48 Garden Route Mossel Bay 1712 1230 Garden Route Oudsthoorn 737 405 Cape Winelands Stellenbosch 1884 1663 Cape Winelands Drakenstein 3970 3586 Cape Winelands Breede Valley 2945 2588 Cape Winelands Langeberg 1039 897 Cape Winelands Witzenberg 1377 1179 Overberg Overstrand 1416 1291 Overberg Cape Agulhas 231 174 Overberg Swellendam 247 231 Overberg Theewaterskloof 1041 906 West Coast Bergrivier 368 325 West Coast Cederberg 138 106 West Coast Matzikama 253 199 West Coast Saldanha Bay Municipality 1205 1074 West Coast Swartland 1298 1062 Central Karoo Beaufort West 348 204 Central Karoo Laingsburg 67 25 Central Karoo Prince Albert 10 4

Unallocated: 5579 (4774 recovered)

Data note:It is not always possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new recorded case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.

More data is available here: https://bit.ly/2BsfdXt

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 32 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 3424. We send our condolences to their family and friends at this time.

Hospitalisations and the re-introduction of healthcare services:

Hospitalisations in the province have dropped below the 1200 mark over the past few days- the lowest hospitalisation numbers recorded in the province since June. This is a strong indicator that our efforts to slow the spread of the virus, and our medical interventions, such the use of field hospitals,high flow nasal oxygen and the use of steroids to treat serious cases of COVID-19, are starting to pay off.

As a Government, we have been following an evidence-based, data-led approach to our health response, and we have used worst-case scenario planning to ensure that we always have adequate provisions.

While our healthcare system has been under pressure throughout this time, we have always had capacity to provide healthcare to our residents.

Our latest data indicates that we have passed our ‘peak’ and that our metro hospitals are 69% full, down from 71% the week before (all patients).

We are also adding additional capacity in rural areas, with beds at Sonstraal Hospital and in municipalities such as George.

This has allowed us to start to reintroduce certain clinical services, which will be phased in over a period of time. Interventions that have a low COVID-19 risk and which will have significant impact on health, such as immunisations, will be considered first.

Immunisation provides the most effective means for parents to protect their children from serious but preventable illnesses such as measles.

It is important that we ensure that these healthcare services are reintroduced to avoid future healthcare issues which may place further impact on our healthcare services.

While we are pleased at the progress we are making, it remains important that we continue to focus on COVID-19 prevention across the province. We note that some areas in the province continue to record increasing infection rates, especially in our rural areas. We also want to avoid a second wave in infections in the areas and hotspots where we are seeing declines.

Issued by: Western Cape Office of the Premier

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.