KZN deemed hotspot after 5000 Covid-19 daily cases

Following the country’s second wave of Covid-19, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala expressed his concern after the province breached the 5 000 mark for daily infections, Southland Sun reports.

In a media briefing held on Sunday, 3 January Zikalala revealed the shocking rise is followed by a recent report from the health department which recorded 5 846 new infections and 116 deaths as of 30 December 2020.

“We are extremely concerned that we have started the new year on a bad note. It was the first time that we had gone beyond the 5 000 mark – let alone approaching 6 000. The next day, on New Year’s Eve, we improved slightly in terms of infections, and registered 5 311 new infections. But we registered 134 deaths.

“On New Year’s Day, we again saw a slight improvement, recording 4 974 new infections, and 21 fatalities. As of Saturday, 2 January, we recorded a total of 4 714 new infections, bringing the province’s total number of Covid-19 infections to 209 691. Sadly, 85 people lost their lives over the past 24 hour reporting period. We send our deepest condolences to the bereaved families.”

The province has observed that the six districts that have been declared hotspots. These are the municipalities of eThekwini, uMgungundlovu, Ugu, Harry Gwala, King Cetshwayo, and Ilembe and are recording a high number of cases daily.

“Family clusters have also increased, which clearly indicates that infected family members are not complying with self-quarantine and self-isolation rules. There are also a number of home deaths, and people dying on arrival at health facilities, which is a clear indication that people are reporting late to health facilities.”

In responding to the second wave, the province has prepared more beds to meet the demand. The response includes the re-purposing of 540 beds in eThekwini and other districts, commissioning of field hospitals which will give the province an additional 954 beds as well as engaging with private facilities (hotels and lodges) for extra beds.

“Given the unprecedented high rate of infection and mortality due to the virus, we really should consider ourselves as people who are in mourning. We need to act responsibly and not just pay lip service when it comes to taking precautions. We need to realise that every decision we take, and everything we do, has an impact on our lives and our ability to curb the spread of the virus,” concluded Zikalala.

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