AbaQulusi is now Covid-19 hotspot

Lolo Madonsela

AbaQulusi has been ranked as one of the leading municipalities with Covid-19 positive cases under Zululand District. eMondlo is a hot-spot, followed by Vryheid town, Bhekuzulu Location and then Hlobane.
Other affected municipalities under Zululand are eDumbe, where Paulpietersburg town and Tholakele township are hot-spots. Other hot-sports are: In Ceza – Echibini, Brush and Nsukazi. In Pongolo – Ncotshane and kwa Lubisi. In Nongoma – Dabhasi, Maphophoma, Nongoma town, Usuthu and White City.
Addressing the media last week, Premier Sihle Zikalala said they have decided to “make known every district, suburb and township that appears to be bearing the most brunt of Covid-19. We are hoping that this will make people realise that the virus is close to them – without stigmatising any areas or making other people feel too safe from it.”
As at July 25, KZN was sitting at 60,602 positive cases, of which 38,667 were still active.
“Sadly, we once again had new deaths this week, bringing the death toll to 614. Our daily Covid-19 positive cases are nearing 4000. We observed that just yesterday (July 24) alone, we recorded 3405 new cases. This therefore means that in just one week, we have had 20,557 new Covid-19 cases, 198 new deaths and 10,196 additional recoveries. Our recoveries to date as a province stands at 21,251,” said a concerned Premier Zikalala.

Also read: Schools in AbaQulusi hit by Covid-19

He went on to say that they are concerned by the late presentation of Covid-19 patients to health facilities. “When we engage with doctors and nurses, we get given anecdotal evidence that seems to suggest that our people rely a little too much on alternative treatment, only coming to our facilities when it’s too late. With Covid-19, as with every other ailment, time is of the essence. I want to emphasise that we are not against alternative and traditional medicine at all. Rather, we encourage our people to use an integrated approach in fighting Covid-19,” said Zikalala.
He further encouraged people to quarantine or isolate at government facilities, rather than at home.
“Given the rate at which our infections are growing, we have to do everything possible to save lives. One of the things we want to emphasise is the importance of people being quarantined or isolated at government facilities. We have enough capacity, so we urge Covid-19 patients to come forward and be quarantined and / or isolated at these facilities that have been made available by government. This will help ensure that patients are well-monitored and less likely to transmit the virus to others – unlike at home, where adhering to safety protocols may be a challenge,” Zikalala said.
He added that KZN has 11,833 beds that can be used, and an additional 1162 quarantine beds within government buildings.
Zikalala then appealed to traditional leaders, councillors, ward committees, church leaders and izinduna to assist implement tighter measures for funerals and ceremonies, as people have been flouting the gatherings and funeral protocols.

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