Update on the coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde

29 June 2020

As of 1pm on 29 June, the Western Cape has 16 550 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 61 445 confirmed cases and 43120 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 5900 (2847 recoveries)

Data note:  As the province moves closer to the peak and the Department of Health is recording over 1000 new cases daily, it is not possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new 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://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 38 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 1775 . We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Temporary hospital update:

The Western Cape has, as part of its COVID-19 preparedness strategy, built temporary hospitals which will increase the number of  hospital beds available in the province.

Work is well-underway at the Brackengate temporary hospital, and the 330 bed temporary hospital is on track to receive its first patients on 10 July (see photo attached).

Much like the CTICC hospital, this site will provide intermediate hospital care to patients, and has been designed with infection prevention in mind- with a state of the art waste management facility in place to destroy infectious waste.

We have invited national Health Minister Zweli Mkhize to visit the Western Cape again on Wednesday and will be showcasing the facility to him before the hospital becomes fully functional.

Work on the Sonstraal facility in the Cape Winelands is also underway with the first phase, creating an additional 63 beds, set to start accepting patients in the first week of July.

These are in additional to two already completed and functional facilities- the Hospital of Hope at the CTICC and the Thusong hospital in Khayelitsha, operated by Medicins sans Frontiers, in partnership with the provincial government.

Breaking Barriers Community Outreach in Athlone

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Breaking Barriers Community Outreach centre in Athlone. This centre provides an amazing resource to the surrounding community, relying mostly on donations to do the work that they do. They offer sewing and welding skills training for young people, and every day, prepare massive pots of soup that feed thousands of people in the community.

I was also able to meet some of the young people who are not only learning at the outreach, but also volunteering, helping to prepare meals and giving back.

This organisation has been operational in Athlone for a number of years, but as COVID-19 has exacerbated the need for humanitarian aid, is now playing an important role helping the people in their community.

Issued by Wester Cape Office of the Premier, 29 June 2020