Health Minister continues Nelson Mandela Bay visit amid Covid-19 surge
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize continues his two-day visit to Nelson Mandela Bay Metro on Friday as part of government efforts to support the province in addressing the resurgence of Covid-19.
Nelson Mandela Bay Metro has been identified as a hotspot with the minister reportedly cautioning that tougher restrictions could be on the cards as numbers continue to rise.
"Our concern is that something needs to be done. We’ve seen the numbers of positive cases increasing in Nelson Mandela Bay and Eastern Cape. By all counts this is an indication of a resurgence," the minister said.
He said the debate now was how to contain it after large gatherings at taverns and bars were identified as problem areas.
According to the latest statistics from the Eastern Cape Health Department as of 26 November, there were 1 256 cases reported in a 24-hour period in the province, with 33 deaths, taking the cumulative totals to 122 587 and 8 909 respectively.
"The number of active cases was 8,909, where 74,8% cases were from Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and Sarah Baartman, and 22,2% from BC Metro, Chris Hani and Amathole, and 2,8% were from OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo," the department said.
It said there was a gradual increase in the incidence of SARS-Cov-2 among those districts with low transmission rates for a long time, namely Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo District Municipalities.
Meanwhile, Mkhize said on Thursday that the increase in Covid-19 numbers was being driven by new cases, mainly in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
He said the Eastern Cape reflected about 50% to 55% of the daily positive cases, followed by the Western Cape which had been reporting a 25% daily increase.
Mkhize said he was also comfortable that there were additional beds to absorb patients, following visits to both Dora Nginza and Livingstone Hospitals.
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