By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
KwaZulu-Natal has officially entered the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Premier Sihle Zikalala said on Sunday.
Zikalala placed the blame for the surge in infections on the recent unrest,saying “the increase in new infections is due to large gatherings during the recent lootings”.
Over the past week, the province saw a 31% increase in infections, while the hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients had also increased by 16%, he said.
“The province has,for the past three consecutive days,recorded more than 3 000 new cases,and is reporting the second-highest number of daily confirmed cases.”
“We have also noted an increase in cluster cases, with schools emerging as the biggest contributor in this regard. In fact, more than 120 schools have reported clusters in their school settings; and more than 800 learners and teachers have been affected. Learners make up at least 95% of this number, while educators account for the remaining 5%,” he said.
Zikalala added the number of hospitalisations is also increasing steadily in both the public and private health facilities, with some facilities reporting extremely high occupancy rates in ICU beds.
“The department is looking at alternatives in expanding ICU bed capacity. We can indicate that there are still enough beds in the province. We have also retained the number of field hospitals that were being utilised during the first and second waves. We have also established a roving team of highly-skilled people, such as epidemiologists, public health specialists, medical experts, infection control experts, and nursing professionals, to assist districts that are experiencing a surge in cases.”
“We are urging citizens of KwaZulu-Natal to go to their nearest health facilities if they’re not feeling well, in order to reduce the number of home deaths and patients dying on arrival at our health care facilities. We also want to stress once again that compliance to non-pharmaceutical measures such as the wearing of masks, regular hand washing with soap and water, and social distancing, is key,” he added.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has declared a provincial state of disaster in the province due to the magnitude of the damage caused by the recent civil unrest.
“The current estimated costs of damages and relief required for the sector departments is R1 534 026 832.96 whereas the municipal damages require R47 733 460.37. The interim financial implications is R1 581 760 293.33.”
The provincial government also conveyed its sincerest appreciation to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the SA National Defence Force and SAPS for their role in securing peace in KwaZulu-Natal and the country.