WESTERN CAPE NEWS - Premier Alan Winde said in media statement today that the Western Cape Government is still busy collecting and collating data so that interventions are evidence-led and work and services are focused where they are needed most.
According to the statement:
Today’s cabinet meeting was focused on dignity and wellbeing and we received presentations from the theme leads as well as each of the hotspot working groups looking at important focus areas including issues around the provision of meals, data on stunting and malnutrition, immunisations, literacy programmes and shelters for the homeless and victims of gender-based violence.
We are still busy collecting and collating data in some of these areas, so that our interventions are evidence-led and the work that we do and the services we deliver are focused where they are needed most.
Our data on the provision of food, indicates that in October over 346 000 meals were provided by state funded kitchens. A further 25 000 meals have been provided through a program launched by DEDAT to provide vouchers to community kitchens, which allows them to purchase supplies from local businesses and suppliers. Over 4.5 million meals have also been provided through the school feeding scheme.
This is in addition to the work that the Department of Agriculture is doing as part of their One Home One Garden campaign, helping to establish food gardens that will help families supplement their food supply, with nutritious vegetables they grow themselves.
In line with my commitment in my recovery speech that this government would place a strong focus on ECDs, we are also tracking ECD data. This sector has been deeply impacted by Covid-19 and the lockdown. These centres play an important role in our economy- creating jobs in communities for (mostly) women, while at the same time, creating safe spaces where parents can leave their children when they go off to work.
Currently, only 45% of the number of pre-Covid ECD centres are operational in the province. Through the Department of Social Development, we have assisted 2849 ECDs with the PPE they need to keep children safe. However, there are many others who have indicated that they are not yet ready to open.
This data will allow us to understand the work being done in this space, with a view to establishing a special consultative forum with key stakeholders in order to ensure that those who need it, are able to access ECD care for their children.
The hotspot teams have also been tasked with identifying the groups and organisations in their respective hotspots aimed at building social cohesion. These include various sporting federations, NGOs and other community organisations who are working on the ground to improve dignity and wellbeing.
Dignity and well-being encompasses many aspects of a person’s life, starting from before birth. Building dignity and wellbeing is a mammoth task and requires the support of all of our partners- including all spheres of government, civil society, businesses and individuals. Linking our work in the dignity and well-being space with our other priorities of jobs and safety, will help to ensure that we are able to improve the dignity, health and wellbeing of the people of this province, so that they can lead lives that they are proud of.
Update on the coronavirus
As of 13:00 on 17 November, the Western Cape has 4294 active Covid-19 infections with a total of 121 139 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 112 371 recoveries.
Garden Route District cases and (recoveries):
- Bitou - 921 (702)
- Knysna - 1921 (1613)
- George - 4707 (3892)
- Hessequa - 406 (307)
- Kannaland - 148 (145)
- Mossel Bay - 2807 (2530)
- Oudtshoorn - 1681 (1509)
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.
Due to some technical issues experienced in updating the data dashboard today, the data reflected in this release may differ slightly from the data on the Western Cape Government's data dashboard. This is due to a time difference in the time at which the data was accessed.
The Western Cape has recorded additional 12 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 4474 . We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.
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