Tshwane, Joburg named as ‘Covid-19 hotspots’
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government is extremely concerned at the high number of coronavirus cases in the Western Cape.
Ramaphosa on Sunday annouced the easing of lockdown regulations to level 3 from June 1.
Some areas, however, will face restrictions and receive additional support based on the number of Covid-19 infections.
"Even as we move to alert level 3, it is important that we should be aware that there are a few parts of the country where the disease is concentrated and where infections continue to rise,” said Ramaphosa.
"We will have a differentiated approach to deal with those areas that have far higher levels of infection and transmission.”
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Ramaphosa defined the hotspots as "an area that has more than 5 infected people per every 100,000 people or where new infections are increasing at a fast pace".
Hotspot areas are:
- Tshwane
- Johannesburg
- Ekhuruleni
- eThekwini
- Nelson Mandela Bay
- Buffalo City
- Cape Town
- West Coast
- Overberg
- Cape Winelands
- Chris Hani District
- Ilembe District
Ramaphosa said government will be attending to the Western Cape urgently.
"We are particularly concerned about the situation in the city of Cape Town and in the Western Cape generally, which now has more than half the total infections in the country.
"We are attending to this as a matter of urgency."
The list of hotspot areas will be reviewed every two weeks depending on the progression of the virus.