Media Release: Update on the coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde

15 September 2020

As of 1pm on 15 September, the Western Cape has 2763 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 107 886 confirmed cases and 101 044 recoveries.

Cape Metro Sub-districts:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 2201 (2124 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. 

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 14 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 4079. We send our condolences to their family and friends at this time.

Sharing the Western Cape COVID-19 response:

Earlier today, I participated in two webinars sharing the Western Cape's experience of COVID-19 with international partiners.  First, I participated in the Regional Leaders Summit Virtual Symposium on COVID-19 and then a webinar hosted by the ICLEI Africa in which Mayor of Cape Town Dan Plato and I spoke on our experiences of managing COVID-19 in Cape Town and in the Western Cape to delegates from across Africa. We were also joined in this webinar by Professor Salim Abdool Karim, chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee.

During his remarks, Professor Karim highlighted the creation of the CTICC Hospital of Hope, a seemingly impossible task, as one of the products of effective leadership.

He said: "If you were to ask me in February "Can you take the Cape Town ICC and convert it into an 800 bed hospital and provide oxygen at every one of those beds and I would like you to do all of that in six weeks", I would have said: 'Are you crazy? Do you even understand what it takes to do that?' If you look at an airport, you see aeroplanes landing and taking off and you think that's it, that's an airport. No, airports are complicated organisations and structures. Hospitals are even more complicated. You need x-ray facilities, you need kitchens to cook, you need laboratories for tests and so on. Is it really possible? I would have said no. Well, we had effective leadership because they did it. They had a functioning capable field hospital in the Cape Town ICC."

This was just one of the temporary hospitals the Western Cape Government was able to deliver to ensure that we were able to offer care to everyone who needed it, and I salute all of those who have been involved in the set-up and running of these facilities.

As I highlighted in the webinar, the Western Cape had the good fortune to be able to learn from other countries that had experienced their peaks before us, and similarly, we were able to share our knowledge, and experience with other provinces and with the rest of the world.

On the frontlines of that response were thousands of dedicated healthcare workers, various public health experts, hard-working government officials and the men and women of this province who stood up and made a difference where it mattered- whether it was in providing humanitarian relief, sharing information or simply by wearing their masks.

This behaviour has helped us to flatten the curve and during the President's Coordinating Council meeting today, I highlighted how the people of this province have proven that they are able to take individual responsibility through behaviour-change.

I believe this responsibility, coupled with good management of the pandemic by the Western Cape Government, and a continued focus on hotspot management and safety, must be the grounds for the further opening of our economy, and the reopening of international tourism. This must be our focus, as we fight the second pandemic of unemployment, which poses a grave risk to the people of this province and of this country.

Transparent governance:

We note and support the nationwide protest against corruption held by church leaders today. Corruption is not only a crime, but where it involves government money, it threatens service delivery and robs our most vulnerable residents of the services required to live a dignified life.

As public servants, we must put members of the public first. The Western Cape Government is committed to transparent and ethical governance. This is why we were the first province to make public our COVID-19 related expenditure. We have already released two, monthly reports which detail PPE expenditure and all COVID-19 related expenses.

An active, engaged citizenry is an important part of oversight and we encourage all citizens to engage with the reports and to report any irregularities by emailing [email protected].

Issued by Western Cape Office of the Premier, 15 September 2020