SA Goes into Level 3 Lockdown Prioritising Hotspots in Cape Town and Johannesburg

• South Africa’s coronavirus cases continue to rise as the country moves to level 3 of lockdown. Where the focus will shift to hotspots and tailored interventions across districts and industries.
• The hotspots found so far, where there are more than 5 cases per 100,000, consist of the largest metros in the country.
• Despite the ease of the lockdown being contrary to the guideline of the World Health Organisation, health experts have said the lockdown would offer no future benefits and has flattened the curve in the country.

South Africa’s coronavirus cases continue to rise as the country moves to level 3 of lockdown.

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, stated on Monday, the 1st of June that the country reported another 1,674 cases, taking the total to 34,357.

Deaths also increased to 705 (up by 22), although, more importantly, recoveries were also up to 17,291 – giving a total of 16,361 cases inactive.

The increasing number of cases in South Africa is not surprising but comes at a time when the country is opening up its economy and further loosening traffic restrictions below lockdown level 3.

While this runs contrary to the guidelines of the World Health Organization that lockdowns will only be relaxed if the country demonstrates a decrease in the number of new cases, health experts have said the lockdown would offer no future benefits and have effectively flattened the curve in the country.

South Africa is now transitioning to a new phase where the focus will shift to hotspots and tailored interventions across districts and industries.

The government will evaluate 52 districts across the country at 14-day intervals to decide which areas require interventions to stop the spread of the virus. The hotspots found so far (where there are more than 5 cases per 100,000) consist largely of the largest metros in the country.

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Western Cape

The Western Cape remains the Covid-19 hotbed in South Africa, with 22,567 cases accounting for two-thirds (65.7%) of all cases in the country.

The province also boasts a high recovery rate or 51%, but still has more active cases (11,136) than anywhere else.

Mkhize was in the province on Monday to assess his readiness to deal with the pandemic and expected hospitalisation rise.

The province said it has a hotspot strategy, which the minister was briefed on, as well as quarantine and isolation facility funded by Old Mutual, as well as the Brackengate site where construction is currently underway on a temporary hospital with 300 beds.

The City of Cape Town remains the hardest hit by the outbreak, with the metro responsible for 80 per cent of the cases in the province.

While taking into account recoveries, the metro still has 7,981 active cases – higher than any other district in the nation – representing nearly half the total active cases.

Gauteng

As of 1st June 2020, Gauteng accounts for 4.231 or 12.3 percent of all Covid-19 cases in the region.

The province has shown a strong recovery rate of 48 percent, with 2.030 recoveries to date.

The City of Johannesburg accounts for the largest proportion of cases in the province, with the latest district data showing 46 percent of all cases in the metro.

This is preceded by the City of Ekurhuleni (21%) and the City of Tshwane (12%). The sub-district with the majority of cases is CoJ E, consisting of Alexandra, Sandton, Houghton, Orange Grove and Wynberg.

Factoring in recoveries, the most involved cases are in CoJ F – covering central Johannesburg and south Johannesburg.