Covid-19 numbers surge, eThekwini south sub-district leads

ETHEKWINI Municipality remains as the epicenter of Covid–19 in the province. In addressing the many Covid related issues and concerns, KZN Premier, Sihle Zikalala held a media briefing on Sunday, 28 June.

“In KZN so far, we have had 7786 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 112 deaths, and 3417 recoveries. A week ago, we had 5030 confirmed cases, 84 deaths, and 2594 recoveries. This means that in the past week, 2756 people have tested positive, 28 sadly lost their lives; while 823 thankfully recovered,” said Zikalala.

The province has been receiving a variable number of new cases daily. The median number of cases reported in the province is 30 cases daily. The most common recorded co-morbidities among the deceased are hypertension (59 per cent) and diabetes mellitus (52 per cent). Nine of the deceased were reported to have been HIV positive.

Zikalala said that the department of health has noted that eThekwini south sub-district has had the highest curve with 1493 cases, followed by the northern sub-district with 1223, while the western sub-district has registered the fewest cases at 554.

Demand for beds and ventilators
MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said that the health department has been working hard to increase its capacity in relation to ICU beds and isolation beds. “As a province we have about 200 ventilators. There are other ventilators available in the private sector. As the government we have ordered about another 100 ventilators and have been promised a donation of another 100. We are still waiting for these to be delivered. We are aware of the challenge of shortages of the equipment that is utilised not just in the country but all over the world, but it is beginning to be a challenge to us so we have decided that we need to escalate the matter,” said Simelane-Zulu.

Infection of healthcare workers

In efforts to address the infection of healthcare workers, Zikalala said that the health department will be undertaking strict interventions per department. These include: intense and regular training of staff. “This will include programmes to promote behavioural change, psychological maturity and de-stigmatisation of Covid-19. We will also intensify training on donning and doffing procedures (that refers to how to put on the protective gear, and how to take it off safely). We also want all nurses to take on the role of being champions of Covid-19 so they can monitor each other. We will also continue consulting with labour unions in this regard.”

Contact tracing
KZN has managed to identify 15 473 contacts. The province managed to monitor more than 99.9 per cent of the identified contacts, and out of those, 98.8 per cent had their specimens collected. The positivity rate among contacts was 4.4 per cent.
A total of 6,7 million people have been screened in the community and facilities from 8 April to date.
A total of 45 469 samples were tested from the community testing and screening. Out of these, 600 cases tested positive (1.1 per cent proportion positivity).

Impact on the economy

Zikalala together with MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Nomusa Dube-Ncube welcomed the easing of lockdown restrictions which will allow for the opening of restaurants, fast food outlets, coffee shops and accommodation facilities under strict health protocols. This will further open more economic sectors, especially those linked to the tourism sector. “While noting the strain that this sector and its entire value chain is facing, we believe that this will go a long way in rebuilding this area of our economy,” said Zikalala.

Impact on schools
“Since schools re-opened, we have seen an increase in the number of confirmed positive cases involving teachers, learners and support staff alike. Schools are a reflection of communities where they operate. Last week we had 74 cases of which 57 were teachers and 13 learners. This week the reported number of infected people in schools has increased to 187 of which 139 are teachers and 37 are learners. Umgungundlovu District leads in terms of the number of infected teachers.

“What is critical is how we manage the situation in schools where positive cases such that the risk of further spread is minimised. Both the Departments of Health and Education have handled the cases extremely well. We are encouraging people to allow the Department of Health to take a lead in managing Covid-19 cases even in schools. The health department will assess the situation in every school that has a positive case. We want to emphasise once more that the safety of our learners, teachers and support staff is always a priority,” he said

Fighting the stigma
Zikalala shared that the issue of stigmatisation is still a major challenge. “There have been a number of cases whereby, when we need to fetch people so that they can be tested and quarantined. They plead with our teams to either come late at night to collect them, or send their vehicle a few houses down the road so that neighbours will not see them. It is unacceptable that people should be forced to go to such lengths to hide their association with Covid-19. It points to a clear lack of tolerance for others, and an understanding that Covid–19 is a disease that can affect anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. People who have Covid -19 or those who need to get tested, need our support and understanding, not vilification and judgement.”

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