Cape Town – Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the number of Covid-19 cases in the province is declining as it reaches its peak.
During his weekly digital conference, Winde stated the Covid-19 cases being recorded are slowing down the fourth Covid-19 wave.
“The Western Cape Government is starting to see the plateauing of new cases in the Western Cape, with the proportion of tests coming back positive starting to decline. This points to a slowing down of the fourth wave in the Western Cape, as we approach our peak.
“However, given the numerous public holidays over this period, we need to caution against making a decisive call over what is expected over the next week, and we will closely monitor the cases to determine if this trend continues.
“Overall, the number of new Covid-19 cases remains high at 4 000 new cases per day on average, with 217 new admissions on average per day. Those in high care and ICU remain relatively low.
“The number of new deaths is low at two deaths on average a day.
“There has been a 48% decline in deaths over the last week,” Winde said.
While there is a slowing down of cases in the Cape Metro with some sub-districts like Khayelitsha and Klipfontein showing a decrease in Covid-19 cases, the rural districts are still seeing an increase in cases, although the increase has slowed compared to previous weeks.
“While the case numbers and test positivity rate during the fourth wave have exceeded previous waves, admissions are below the peak of both the second and the third wave, and deaths remain extremely low, in line with previous inter-wave periods. There is therefore a widening gap between these metrics, pointing to less severe disease during the fourth wave.
“Overall, according to our data, the risk of admission is 30% lower in the fourth wave when compared to the third wave, and the risk of admission for severe disease is 60% less during the fourth wave than during the third wave.
“We believe that vaccination, as well as immunity from undiagnosed prior infection has played an important role in this,” Winde said.
He continued to call on residents over the age of 50 years old to get vaccinated, and if eligible, to get their booster shot as soon as possible to ensure the best protection against the virus.
Winde said raw data by the Western Cape Health Department showed that 82% of new Covid-19 cases and 92% of deaths were among residents who were not fully vaccinated.
He said this analysis was done in cases of residents 18 years and older diagnosed between November 15 and December 11, 2021.
“The team is still undertaking a detailed analysis of this data to incorporate the impact of partial vaccination, which is not included in this initial study.
“What is nevertheless clear is that vaccines provide important protection against severe disease in those who are fully vaccinated, and that getting vaccinated remains a critical way to protect yourself, to stay out of hospital and to prevent death,” Winde added.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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