Khayelitsha Covid-19 cases grow as three more die in Western Cape

The Covid-19 death toll in the Western Cape has reached 28, and Khayelitsha is now home to 11% of Cape Town's infections.

Three new fatalities were announced on Friday by premier Alan Winde. He said the victims — two women, aged 76 and 44, and a man of 31 — all had “significant comorbidities”.

He said 1,314 confirmed cases of Covid-19 had been recorded in the Western Cape by 5pm on Thursday.

This is 161 (14%) higher than the number he reported 24 hours earlier, and Winde said he understood residents' anxiety as they saw a rapid escalation in cases.

“This is a natural result of our more rigorous testing approach. Our strategy is to do screening and testing even more rigorously. This is the best way to contain the virus and to flatten the curve,” he said.

“We are going to face a very challenging time in the weeks and months to come. The lockdown has helped, but it has not stopped the virus. The peak is still to come, and many people will be infected by Covid-19.”

So far in April, 150,847 people in the Western Cape had been screened for Covid-19 and 6,006 had been sent for testing, said Winde.

“Our increased focus on screening and testing has helped us to respond to areas of risk as we identify them, and then quarantine or isolate people where necessary.”

The statistics released on Friday revealed that 121 Khayelitsha residents had tested positive for Covid-19, out of 1,110 in the city. The metropolitan area is responsible for more than 84% of provincial cases.

The Cape Winelands has 107 cases (8%), the Garden Route 60 (4.6%), the Overberg 12 (0.9%) and the West Coast 10 (0.07%). The Central Karoo has no cases, and 15 patients have not yet been allocated to a geographical area.

Nine municipalities in the Western Cape still have no Covid-19 cases. As well as the three in the Central Karoo — Laingsburg, Prince Albert and Beaufort West — they are Kannaland, Cape Agulhas, Swellendam, Bergriver, Cederberg and Matzikama.

Local government MEC Anton Bredell said municipalities were getting an extra R16.2m towards humanitarian relief.

“Municipalities are already providing much-needed relief in various forms, including soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food parcels,” he said.

“This allocation will assist them in continuing to do so. The funds have been transferred directly to the municipal accounts.”