The Western Cape Government, along with the City of Cape Town (COCT) confirmed on Thursday, June 10, that the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) will be turned into one of the mass vaccination sites in the province.
Joint statement by WC Gov & @CityofCT ? CTICC to be turned into mass vaccination site – one of first ‘vaccination centres of hope’
The WC Gov & the @CityofCT have reached joint agreement to turn the @CTICC_Official into a mass vaccination site ➡️ https://t.co/QC4BAUIMvm pic.twitter.com/OrTjJkRSqQ
— Premier Alan Winde (@alanwinde) June 10, 2021
In a joint statement, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde indicated that, “Just over one year ago, our teams worked quickly and efficiently to convert the CTICC into the Western Cape’s first major field hospital, our ‘Hospital of Hope’, and it became a place of healing for the thousands of residents who received life-saving treatment there. I’m excited to once again be working at full speed to open this world-class conferencing venue to residents across the City of Cape Town, enabling a radical increase in life-saving vaccinations. It is our intention for it to be a Centre of Hope in our City and Province within a few weeks.
“I’m excited to once again be working at full speed to open this world-class conferencing venue to residents across the City of Cape Town, enabling a radical increase in life-saving vaccinations. It is our intention for it to be a Centre of Hope in our City and Province within a few weeks,” Winde added.
Meanwhile, the state-of-the-art site will be used for high volumes of vaccinations as part of the Western Cape and City of Cape Town’s commitment to vaccinating as many residents as possible against COVID-19. However, the venue can only work at full capacity once vaccine supplies allows it, the statement read.
“At its peak, it is envisaged that this mass ‘vaccination centre of hope’ will be able to vaccinate over 4000 people a day. It will have up to 50 vaccination stations, with each station capable of administering 100 vaccinations per day. This will have a major impact on the pace of our vaccination programme, especially as we move to vaccinate residents under the age of 60,” Winde said.
Executive Mayor Alderman, Dan Plato said that the COCT has begun preparation for the site in March already, as the planning included project management, concept design and costing. “These plans were shared with the provincial government who, after several engagements with the City, made the decision to utilise the CTICC in this regard,” Plato added.
According to the statement, the City will also drive final preparations in the coming week, with the aim of completing the project before the end of June, while the Western Cape Government will be responsible for managing the site.
Picture: Cape Town etc gallery