Garden Route Covid cases drop by half

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The number of reported active Covid-19 cases in the Garden Route has dropped by about half over the week leading up to Tuesday 5 October when there were 692 active cases.

There were 29 deaths in the same period.

The active cases in the respective sub-districts on 5 October were: George 205, Oudtshoorn 153, Mossel Bay 96, Knysna 85, Bitou 81, Hessequa 59 and Kannaland 13.

A breakdown of Covid-19-related deaths during the third wave shared during the weekly digicon of the Western Cape Health Department last week showed that residents of 50 years and older are most at risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19.

Premier Alan Winde appealed to this age group to get fully vaccinated "to save lives, reduce the pressure on our health platform and save jobs".

Most of those who died from Covid-19 during the third wave had comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, asthma, TB and HIV/Aids, so people with these conditions are especially urged to get vaccinated, he said.

83% deaths in 50 plus age group

Between 10 June and 24 September, it was found that:

Of the 215 006 cases, 30% were recorded in those 50 years and older;
Of the 24 445 hospital admissions, 60% were recorded in those 50 years and older; and
Of the 7 423 deaths, 83% were recorded in those 50 years and older.

Adjusted Alert Level 1

The country moved to Adjusted Alert Level 1 on Friday 1 October after the South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium confirmed that the country has emerged from the third wave of infections.

As at 5 October, 768 new daily cases were reported nationwide, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). There are also sustained decreases in Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths in all provinces.

Restrictions under adjusted Alert Level 1 are as follows:

Curfew hours are from midnight to 04:00.
Non-essential establishments like restaurants, bars and fitness centres will need to close by 23:00 to keep within the curfew.
Indoor gatherings are restricted to 750 (up from 250), or no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue where appropriate social distancing is not possible.
Outdoor gatherings are restricted to 2 000 (up from 500).
Funerals are limited to 100 (up from 50) people. Night vigils, after-funeral gatherings and "after-tears" gatherings are not allowed.
Alcohol sales for off-site and on-site consumption are permitted according to normal licence provisions, but no alcohol may be sold after 23:00.
Wearing of masks in public places is still mandatory, and failure to wear a mask when required remains a criminal offence.

Vaccine certificate

All South African residents who have been fully vaccinated, can now download their vaccine certificate as proof. It can be downloaded at the following link: https://vaccine.certificate.health.gov.za/.

This digital pass system, which is in line with international best practice, can be used to show vaccination status to facilitate travel, access to establishments, gatherings and other forms of activity.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his announcement on Thursday, said streamlining and standardising proof of vaccination will go a long way in getting a number of international travel restrictions both from and into South Africa eased.

Just 9,2 million fully vaccinated

Over 18 million of the South African population have received a vaccine dose so far, of whom just over 9,2 million are fully vaccinated.

The Department of Health's target is that 70% to 90% of the adult population will be vaccinated by December, which equates between 28 million and 36 million people.

In the Western Cape, 2,004 million people (40,27%) of those over 18 have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 1,28 million people (25,88%) of the total population are fully vaccinated.

Most comorbidities are more common in the cases in people over 50, and this plays a role in the number of deaths and hospitalisations.