‘One Home, One Garden’ Campaign

WESTERN CAPE NEWS - Today the Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, announced that the province had a total of 1371 food gardens, established over the past two months as part of the ‘One Home, One Garden’ Campaign.

Last week alone, 433 gardens were established in the Cape Metro, with 123 of these gardens in Gugulethu.

Other areas include: Riversdale, Groot Brak, Thembalethu, Nduli, Bella Vista and DuNoon, amongst others.

The Hard Lockdown and other restrictions have caused a second unemployment pandemic, and a severe humanitarian crisis. Many of our residents are battling to put food on the table and support their families. Initiatives such as this, which form part of our Covid-19 response, are key interventions that will help make a difference in our most vulnerable communities.

Minister Meyer said: “Through our food security and humanitarian response, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture supports access to affordable and diverse food. By encouraging communities and households to establish food gardens, we are shifting the focus from food relief to food security.”

For Minister Meyer’s full statement, click here.

Update on the coronavirus
As of 13:00 on 28 July, the Western Cape has 11 876 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 91 659 confirmed cases and 76 835 recoveries.

Garden Route District

Bitou - 372 cases, 222 recoveries
Knysna - 921 cases, 549 recoveries
George - 2382 cases, 1582 recoveries
Hessequa - 139 cases, 72 recoveries
Kannaland - 49 cases, 41 recoveries
Mossel Bay - 1205 cases, 698 recoveries
Oudtshoorn - 429 cases, 248 recoveries

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.

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 51 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 2948. We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Always wear a cloth mask when in public – the virus can spread anywhere
I want to extend a big thank you to all those residents who are correctly wearing a cloth mask whenever in public. I know this is not a normal thing to do, but it is an important way to prevent the virus from spreading, and from getting infected.

We have however received feedback from our hotspot teams that some residents only put on their cloth masks when instructed to do so on entering a building such as a shopping mall. It’s very important to remember that you must wear your mask whenever in public, and around other people around - including when this is an outside area. I know wearing a mask can be uncomfortable, but it makes a big difference in slowing the spread of Covid-19.

It is important to remember that the virus can spread in any setting, and a mask is an effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The mask must also always be worn in conjunction with the other golden rules. Please remember to:

Keep a distance between yourself and others (at least 1.5m) and avoid gatherings
Wash your hands regularly with soap, or use hand sanitizer
Clean surfaces in your home and business often
Cough and sneeze into a tissue or the corner of your arm

If we all act in this way we can slow the spread of the virus, protect our loved ones, and save lives.