Western Cape has fewer than 2,500 active Covid-19 cases

The number of active cases of Covid-19 in the Western Cape slipped below 2,500 on Thursday.

At the height of the provincial outbreak at the beginning of July there were more than 17,600 active cases and nearly 1,900 people in hospital. These figures were down to 2,492 and just over 600 on Thursday, meaning active infections in the province are 35.3 per 100,000 people.

The per capita active infection rate in Cape Town — once the epicentre of the national epidemic — is even lower, at 30 per 100,000.

In the sprawling township of Khayelitsha, once Cape Town's biggest Covid-19 headache, per capita active infections are 22 per 100,000. In neighbouring Mitchells Plain they are even lower, at 18 per 100,000.

Cape Town has just 1,383 active infections, according to the provincial government Covid-19 dashboard. It has lost 3,035 citizens to Covid-19 and recorded a recovery rate of 94.2%.

Deaths in the Western Cape rose by 13 on Wednesday to reach 4,146, with a provincial recovery rate of 93.9%.

The national recovery rate was 89.4% on Tuesday, and the nationwide per capita active infection rate is 91 per 100,000 people — three times Cape Town's level.

Community transmission of Covid-19 was established in Cape Town and the Western Cape several weeks before the rest of the country, and at one stage the province was responsible for 70% of infections.

As of Tuesday, this had fallen to 16.5%, with Gauteng on 32.9% and KwaZulu-Natal on 17.8%.

TimesLIVE