CAPE TOWN - There’s a 99% probability that the Western Cape had passed the peak of the third wave, Premier Alan Winde announced on Wednesday, saying that according to data, new cases, hospitalisations and deaths had shown consistent declines in the past few weeks.
Data from health authorities in the province shows that the proportion of positive Covid-19 tests has decreased from 42% at the highest point on July 26 this year, to 26% this week.
There has been a decrease in new hospital admissions and deaths, with an average of 286 new admissions and 80 deaths each day.
This is down from 362 new admissions and around 122 deaths at its highest point on August 1 and July 30 respectively.
The Cape Town metro had a week-on-week decrease of 19% with all sub-districts seeing a decrease in case numbers.
The exception is Khayelitsha where case numbers are still flat, although the absolute numbers there are still relatively small.
In the rural areas, most districts are also seeing a clear decline in case numbers, with the West Coast and Overberg still plateauing.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have ensured that there is sufficient bed capacity in our hospitals to meet the demand, and we continue to do so.
“As at August 30, the total general bed use rate in the Western Cape (Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 combined) was at 89%, the total Covid-19 bed use rate was at 61%.
“This is compared to 91% and 76%, respectively, at its highest point on August 10, 2021,” Winde said.
The Brackengate Hospital of Hope currently has 247 patients and Mitchells Plain Hospital of Hope has 125 clients, while Sonstraal has 61 patients.
“This means we did not need to bring online Ward 99 or the Freesia Ward during this wave. The Metro mass fatality centre has the capacity for 240 bodies; there are currently 43 deceased admitted. The overall capacity has been successfully managed across the province.
“As we exit the third wave peak, we will continue to monitor the province’s oxygen use through our regular oxygen huddles with the Afrox Western Cape plant,” he added.
Meanwhile, the latest national statistics showed that the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases was 2 777 659 with 7 086 new cases reported by Tuesday.
On Tuesday 431 deaths were reported, bringing the total to 82 261 deaths.
The cumulative number of recoveries stand at 2 544 563, with a recovery rate of 91.6%
Cape Times