WC remains COVID-19 epicentre as SA marks 100 days in lockdown

CAPE TOWN – Saturday, 4 July marks 100 days since South Africa went into lockdown to try slow the spread of the coronavirus and give government time to prepare the healthcare system.

Since then, the country has moved from levels 5, then 4, and now level 3 lockdown regulations, which have slowly opened up more areas of the economy.

The Western Cape remains the epicentre of the virus here on home soil, with more than 66,000 of the confirmed cases.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has acknowledged that the lockdown has been hard for South Africans because it’s been a completely new experience for everyone.

Winde has thanked citizens for doing it anyway, adding that the country still has a long way to go.

Since the start of the lockdown in March, government officials have been hard at work to ensure the healthcare system is prepared to deal with the COVID-19 caseload.

In the Western cape, several field hospitals have been established to help in treating COVID-19 patients.

These include the Hospital of Hope at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the Thusong Hospital in Khayelitsha, providing nearly 1,000 additional beds in the metro.

Winde said since the start of last month, the Hospital of Hope has provided care to over 600 patients, with more than 300 discharged by Tuesday this week.

Construction at the Brackengate facility, which will create an additional 330 beds, is complete and the final fitting of beds and equipment is underway.

The hospital is due to accept its first patients on 10 July.

The first 63 beds of 150 at the Sonstraal Facility in Paarl will also come online this month.

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