Media Release: Update on the coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde

12 August 2020

As of 1pm on 12 August, the Western Cape has 6857 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 99074 confirmed cases and 88 734 recoveries.

Cape Metro Sub-districts:

Sub-districts:

Unallocated: 4939 (4714 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://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 28 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 3482. We send our condolences to their family and friends at this time.

Closure of Khayelitsha field hospital:

Today, Dr Keith Cloete and I visited the Thusong Centre in Khayelitsha where the team from Medicins Sans Frontiers are busy packing up the 60 bed field hospital they established there earlier this year. The hospital opened its doors at the beginning of June when cases in the area were starting to peak, and played an important part in our response to COVID-19 in Khayelitsha.

In all, the hospital admitted 241 patients and sadly, recorded 34 deaths in the eight weeks it was operational. The team from MSF will now move on to other provinces including the Eastern Cape and KZN to offer their support.

This field hospital was the first to open in our province, worked closely with the Khayelitsha Hospital across the road and played an important role in building relationships within the community.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank the MSF team, and all of the healthcare workers and the volunteers who stepped up to help when it was needed most.

During our visit today, Dr Cloete indicated that Khayelitsha  currently has 16 active cases per 100 000 population- compared with 588 active cases per 100 000 on 15 June. We have also seen the number of deaths in Khayelitsha decline to 13 over the past 7 days, compared with 83 in a week in June.

Khayelitsha has really provided us with a real story of hope in this crisis.At one point, the area had the second highest number of infections in the province, and with a large population of people with comorbidities and risk factors, and high population density, this story could have had a very different ending. I thank the people of Khayelitsha, all of the healthcare workers, the volunteers, the businesses, the Khayelitsha Development Forum, the neighbourhood watches and the Chrysalis Graduates who have all partnered with us to slow the spread, and flatten the curve. Together, you have all helped to save lives. 

We must however not stop now. We must continue to ensure that we protect ourselves and our loved ones so that we don't see a second wave of infections and so we can dedicate ourselves now to the work of re-introducing healthcare services that have had to be put on hold, and fighting for our economy so that we can save jobs and create new ones.

Despite the closure of the hospital, the community of Khayelitsha will still have access to excellent care should it be required. We have capacity at the Khayelitsha hospital and at our other hospitals in the metro, and our temporary field hospitals at Brackengate and the CTICC remain operational.

Rural healthcare:

While we have overcome the peak of infections in our metro region, some of our rural areas have still require resources and space to manage infections.

Today, the Sonstraal Hospital in Paarl opened its first 63 bed COVID-19 ward to its first patient. These additional beds will help to bolster our response in areas outside of the metro, and provide a dedicated space for COVID-19 care in the Winelands region. These refurbished wards will also provide additional healthcare resources in the region, beyond COVID-19

Issued by Western Cape Office of the Premier, 12 August 2020