As of August, 12 the Western Cape has recorded 6 857 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 99 074 confirmed cases and 88 734 recoveries. Another 28 deaths were recorded, bringing the total COVID-19 related death toll in the province to 3482.
Of the active cases, there are 1 192 hospitalisations with 237 placed in ICU or high care.
A break down of the numbers reads as follows:
More data is available by clicking here.
Closure of Khayelitsha field hospital:
Today, Dr Keith Cloete and Premier Alan Winde visited the Thusong Centre in Khayelitsha where the team from Medicins Sans Frontiers are busy packing up the 60 bed field hospital they established there earlier this year. The hospital opened its doors at the beginning of June when cases in the area were starting to peak, and played an important part in the province response to COVID-19 in Khayelitsha.
In all, the hospital admitted 241 patients and sadly, recorded 34 deaths in the eight weeks it was operational. The team from MSF will now move on to other provinces including the Eastern Cape and KZN to offer their support.
“This field hospital was the first to open in our province, worked closely with the Khayelitsha Hospital across the road and played an important role in building relationships within the community. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank the MSF team, and all of the healthcare workers and the volunteers who stepped up to help when it was needed most.” said Premier Alan Winde in a statement.
Dr Cloete indicated that Khayelitsha currently has 16 active cases per 100 000 population, compared with 588 active cases per 100 000 on 15 June. The number of deaths in Khayelitsha has also decline to 13 over the past 7 days, compared with 83 in a week in June.
“Despite the closure of the hospital, the community of Khayelitsha will still have access to excellent care should it be required. We have capacity at the Khayelitsha hospital and at our other hospitals in the metro, and our temporary field hospitals at Brackengate and the CTICC remain operational.” Winde added.
Rural healthcare:
Today, the Sonstraal Hospital in Paarl opened its first 63 bed COVID-19 ward to its first patient. These additional beds will help to bolster the Western Cape’s response in areas outside of the metro, and provide a dedicated space for COVID-19 care in the Winelands region. These refurbished wards will also provide additional healthcare resources in the region, beyond COVID-19.
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