Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says his province is likely to hit the 100 000 mark of COVID-19 infections in the coming weeks.
The province accounts for well over 60% of the national infection rate and has recorded over 500 deaths, with a significant number of people still in hospitals.
Speaking to Motsweding FM’s Current Affairs Show, Winde says they will mitigate the current surge of infections, by reinforcing their testing capacity and ensuring the health system is not overburdened.
Winde says, “We know that next week, the number will be double to what they are this week. Every 8 days the numbers are doubling. We had 80 000 which was the projection and will probably go up to 120 000 because we have re-assessed our models.
“But we probably have one of the most robust public health systems in the province,” added Winde.
Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize travelled to the province on Monday for an oversight visit in the country’s COVID-19 epicenter. He was there to oversee the health system’s readiness to deal with increased cases.
Provincial Health MEC Dr. Nomafrench Mbombo updated him on their response plan for managing coronavirus hotspots as a number of hotspots have been identified in the Western Cape, including the Cape Town Metro.
Mkhize announced that some facilities in the province will be converted into hospitals to treat patients infected with the COVID-19.
He said a sports centre in Khayelitsha is one of the places being converted to house patients.
The Health Ministry on Monday night announced that the country now has 34 357 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 705 deaths, and 17 291 recoveries
Most of the deaths were recorded in the Western Cape. The province has recorded a total of 525 deaths followed by the Eastern Cape with 82 and KwaZulu-Natal with 52.
The Western Cape accounts for almost 66% of the 34 357 cases followed by Gauteng with 4 231 cases while the Eastern Cape has 4 111.
As of today, the cumulative number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 34 357, the total number of deaths is 705 and total recoveries are now 16 808 pic.twitter.com/G2zKOUhUUR
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) June 1, 2020
