GARDEN ROUTE DISTRICT NEWS - The Garden Route recorded another 208 new Covid-19 cases from Wednesday to Tuesday, 23 to 29 September, bringing the total to date to 9 970.
Garden Route Disaster Management chief Gerhard Otto said this week that he was concerned about the public's behaviour since Level 1 lockdown came into effect.
"People think Level 1 means there is no more Covid and the direct consequence of this will be a second wave of infections. From our side we will be connecting with law enforcement agencies such as the police and defence force, as well as the Department of Labour, regarding a strategy. We caution citizens to adhere to the golden rules of hygiene, including wearing a mask."
Comparing figures for the five-week period from 25 August to 29 September, Otto said the total number of cases in the district dropped from 173 per 100 000 of the population to 62.
"This is still above the Western Cape figure currently at 35 active cases per 100 000 of the population. The two areas in the district with the highest number of active cases per 100 000 are Knysna (107) and Oudtshoorn (97)."
The actual number of active cases in the Garden Route continued to drop over the past week, although not nearly as sharply as in the previous week.
As of Tuesday 29 September, the district had 327 active cases, which is 10 fewer cases than last week. The previous week saw a drop of 114, from 450 to 337.
George has 115 active cases.
Deaths
The death rate in the district is continuing its decline. Eight people died in the past week compared with 12 during the previous week. During the peak of the pandemic, over 40 deaths were recorded in some weeks.
Otto said the fatality rate is the worst in Oudtshoorn with 6,46% of people contracting Covid-19 having lost their lives so far.
Hospital personnel
Western Cape Health Department spokesperson Leensie Lötter said as of 23 September, a total of 400 hospital staff members had tested positive for the coronavirus, of whom 22 were active. Six personnel have died from Covid-19.
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