Fewer people being treated in Gauteng hospitals for Covid-19 since last week

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 in Gauteng has decreased by more than 50% since last week, the health department said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Kwara Kekana said 2,487 people were being treated at public and private facilities across the province. This was down by 3,089 admissions since last Wednesday, when the department said 5,576 people were being treated for Covid-19.

This comes as the number of cumulative cases and fatalities continues to rise. The province has now recorded 136,879 cases and 999 deaths.

The number of those who have beaten the coronavirus has also increased significantly since then. Kekana said 66,374 people had recovered thus far - up by 26,230 from 40,144 a week ago.

Johannesburg remains the district with the most infections, with 59,374 cases, 374 deaths and 33,276 recoveries. It is followed by Ekurhuleni with 30,606 infections, 240 deaths and 18,871 recoveries. Tshwane has recorded 25,021 infections, 192 deaths and 10,446 recoveries.

To date, 4,743 cases are unallocated to regions.

“Data harmonisation allocating Gauteng cases to respective districts is ongoing. After obtaining further information on contact numbers and addresses from law enforcement agencies, provincial outbreak teams and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, we are able to make corrections where a case might have been incorrectly allocated to a particular district,” Kekana said.

The subdistrict breakdown of cases shows:

• Doornkop, Soweto, Dobsonville and Protea Glen make up 13,428 of the confirmed cases;
• The inner city and Johannesburg south make up 10,825 cases; and
• Alexandra, Wynberg, Sandton, Orange Grove and Houghton make up 9,849 cases.