Western Cape considering 'mini-lockdowns' ahead of the holidays

Winde’s comments come as the number of Covid-19 infections are steadily increasing across various areas of the province, with particular concern over the situation in the Garden Route.

“We are investigating what are the options on the mini-lockdowns, what are the options that are blunt instruments that we can use. But it’s the last thing that I would want to implement here in the province. We are coming to a season where we want to get into those hospitality jobs and people want to enjoy the season. We need to do it differently,”  Winde said on Monday.

The Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces have recorded steady Covid-19 increases, which have been mainly attributed to cluster outbreaks.

ALSO READ: Gordhan, Mpofu go head-to-head in fiery cross-examination

Statistics released by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Monday also show that both provinces account for the most number of fatalities.

A further 58 deaths have been reported in just one day.

The Eastern Cape accounts for 32 of those deaths, while the Western Cape has recorded 15 fatalities.

In the Free State province, five deaths have been recorded while Gauteng and the KwaZulu-Natal have each recorded three fatalities. 

This brings the total number of deaths in the country to 21 535.