The Eastern Cape government has implored people to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations as the coronavirus infection rate continues to rise in some parts of the province.
Some of the most affected areas include the Buffalo City Metro, Chris Hani, and the OR Tambo regions which have a combined number of more than 7 000 positive cases.
The province currently has 14 000 active cases, amongst them are three MECs who are battling with the virus. Funerals are yet again seen as super spreader events where the bulk of infections take place.
Addressing the media in Bhisho on Tuesday on the latest situation in the province Premier Oscar Mabuyane said there was no shortage of beds for COVID-19 patients. Nonetheless, Mabuyane has urged citizens to exercise caution.
“The average daily admission has decreased by 46% from 204 admissions on the 14th to 109 on the 21st of December. We are now seeing fewer admissions of patients than we did on the 10th of December. Currently, the number of patients in both public and private hospitals is 1 795. Public hospitals have 1 211 people admitted and private 584 patients for COVID-19 related sicknesses.”
Premier Mabuyane updates on COVID-19 statistics:
As COVID-19 cases in some parts of the province, including the OR Tambo District, continue to rise, the elderly in a rural community in the OR Tambo district seem more concerned about the youth as the country grapples with a new variant of the coronavirus.
Nokhwezi Majiyana says she is anxious about the youth. ‘We beg our young people to practice social distancing this festive season, especially at taverns because that’s where they spend their time. This variant seems to be targeting them. We were hoping that our children will bury us but the way things are, we will bury them.”
Initiates
Meanwhile, a traditional surgeon in the Mthatha area has died from COVID-19 and five initiates who were attending his initiation school tested positive for the virus.
These are the first reported coronavirus cases among initiates since the start of the summer initiation season last week.
The suspension of traditional initiations was lifted for the summer season after an extensive coronavirus prevention plan was put in place. The winter initiation season was suspended during the hard lockdown.
Mabuyane says teams of health officials and other stakeholders will be visiting initiation schools to monitor adherence to COVID-19 regulations.
“To ensure compliance we will be strict and the plan for this week is that the teams will be going around monitoring adherence and regulations for people in Emabhomeni.”
The investigations into allegations of corruption of COVID- 19 related procurement is still underway and the SIU is expected to give a full report at a later stage. Below are the latest coronavirus stats in SA:
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