New Covid-19 infections decreasing in Gauteng but risk of transmission still high – govt

The Gauteng provincial command council has noted a decline in new Covid-19 infections, but warned that the risk of transmitting the virus is still high as restrictions have been eased.

The country moved to Level 1 lockdown from Sunday at midnight.

“There has been a gradual but steady decline in [the] number of new infections and hospitalisations.

“Government and social partners continue to work hard to improve the capacity of the health care system to cope with the demand for hospital care now and post Covid-19,” the command council said in an update on Friday.

Despite this progress, residents of South Africa’s economic hub were reminded that the fight against the virus is far from over and the risk of transmission following the easing of restrictions still remains high.

The command council said:”There is still no vaccine, the only way we can contain the spread of Covid-19 is through non-pharmaceutical interventions. We all have to play our part to protect ourselves and those around us.”

This was revealed by the Gauteng provincial command council in an update on Friday as the province records 218 420 cases, 193 991 recoveries, and 4 153 total deaths as of Thursday’s National Health Ministry statistics.

Deaths analysis:

Gauteng has recorded 4 153 Covid-19 related deaths, of which 53% (2 219) are men and 47% (1 934) are women.

Out of the total 4 153 deaths, the majority 24.8 % (1 028) were recorded between the 60 – 69 age group with 578 male and 450 female.

“[Out of the total deaths, 2 529 (61%) are 60 or more years old and 1 571 (38%) are under 60 years of age,” the council stated in its presentation.

In addition, 2 295 (55.3%) of deaths occurred within a week of diagnosis/admission, while 38% (1 592) occurred after a week or more of diagnosis/admission.

Lastly, statistics further reveal that 2 282 (55%) of those who had died had either or both co-morbidities of diabetes and hypertension, while 25% (1 040) had none or unknown co-morbidities and 13% (544) had other co-morbidities.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.