Premier Alan Winde will enter a week long self-quarantine as he has been marked as a close contact of ENCA cameraman Lungile Tom, who died today from COVID-19 related complications after he was admitted to hospital on Sunday evening [May 10].
Lungile had been a camera operator during last Thursday’s digicon event, and had a one-one-one interview with the premier after the event.
“Because I had a one-on-one interview with Lungile after the press conference, being in close range for some time, I am deemed a close contact and will now self-quarantine. It has been nearly seven days since our contact, and I will therefore go into self-quarantine for another seven days. Members of the public should be reassured that I have not experienced any symptoms associated with COVID-19, but if I do, I will have a test performed straight away,” said the premier in a statement.
“I will continue to work full steam ahead, from home. Because of our developed systems, I can continue to join all meetings, and will be overseeing our new hotspot targeted strategy.”
In terms of good practice for workplaces, screenings will also be arranged for those Western Cape Government staff members who were also in the room for the digicon even. Should any of them require testing, this will be arranged.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was scheduled to visit the province this Friday. Due to Winde’s self-quarantine, however, his visit has been rescheduled.
The Western Cape has a total of 6767 confirmed cases, 4367 of which are active and 2283 recoveries as of 1pm, May 13.
The Western Cape has recorded an additional 7 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 117. 73 589 tests have been conducted to date.
The breakdown is as follows:
Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:
Sub-district cases
Western 805
Southern 636
Northern 471
Tygerberg 1104
Eastern 718
Klipfontein 844
Mitchells Plain 649
Khayelitsha 927
Total 6154
Sub Districts Non-Metro:
District Sub-district Cases
Garden Route Bitou 5
Garden Route Knysna 17
Garden Route George 17
Garden Route Hessequa 9
Garden Route Mossel Bay 21
Garden Route Oudtshoorn 3
Cape Winelands Stellenbosch 43
Cape Winelands Drakenstein 69
Cape Winelands Breede Valley 41
Cape Winelands Langeberg 4
Cape Winelands Witzenberg 182
Overberg Overstrand 17
Overberg Cape Agulhas 3
Overberg Swellendam 7
Overberg Theewaterskloof 10
West Coast Bergrivier 16
West Coast Matzikama 1
West Coast Saldanha Bay Municipality 10
West Coast Swartland 24
Unallocated: 114
Also read: eNCA camera man passes away due to COVID-19
Picture: Facebook / Premier Alan Winde