Gauteng takes virus beating, but Makhura says level 5 not on the cards

As Gauteng took another Covid-19 third wave battering on Thursday, premier David Makhura said a hard lockdown wasn’t feasible.

“When you shut down Gauteng, you shut down the economy,” he said. “We’ve had to make recommendations and decisions over Covid restrictions which will slow down the pandemic without causing economic harm. It would be populist of me to advise the National [Coronavirus] Command Council (NCCC) to shut down the province. We can avoid a further rise in infections if we all do our part.”

A hybrid of level 3 and 4 restrictions has been mooted for the province.

Just hours after he spoke, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announced there were 16,078 new Covid-19 cases in SA on Thursday, 59% of which (9,521) were in Gauteng. The next-worst province was the Western Cape (12% or 1,143 cases).

According to Makhura, one in three people in Gauteng were “likely” to be infected with Covid-19. He based this on the province’s current 34% positivity rate — the number of positive tests against the number of tests undergone in the same period, describing the statistic as “scary”.

The premier’s address came after he met President Cyril Ramaphosa and the NCCC. He said it was up to the national government to decide a way forward, but promised the province was doing everything it could to stave off the rise in infections.

This included opening sections of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, which was closed after a fire two months ago. During the closure about 1,000 beds were lost. Blocks 1 and 2, used for critical services, including Covid-19 and neonatal care, and the oncology ward, are due to open on Monday.

In the meantime, the AngloGold Ashanti Western Deep Levels Hospital will absorb patients who would have used Charlotte Maxeke.

The Nasrec centre will also be reopening to support overflow from hospitals, which are nearing capacity. The centre has 350 oxygen points, is capable of critical care and can be used as a step-down facility.

Makhura also resolved to get as many people vaccinated as possible, saying people eligible for the vaccine can walk in without making an appointment. He has also asked the NCCC and the president if Gauteng can allow those older than 40 to be vaccinated.

The premier said Gauteng citizens should get used to seeing a lot more police on the ground, as social distancing and mask-wearing are going to be strictly enforced.

It is this government which kept the numbers in the first and second wave down in the province. We are doing the same thing.

—  Premier David Makhura

On criticism of the provincial government for the amount of time Charlotte Maxeke hospital has been closed amid soaring Covid-19 numbers, Makhura asked: “What were we supposed to do?”

“It is this government which kept the numbers in the first and second wave down in the province. We are doing the same thing. We expect criticism. During the second wave I was heavily criticised for the Nasrec ‘white elephant’. It wasn’t needed and we closed it. Now the numbers have soared and we’re reopening it.

“No, I don’t think the closure of the Charlotte Maxeke hospital is acceptable. We didn’t plan for the loss of the 1,000 beds and it is unacceptable that it has taken so long to open. The red tape is frustrating and there is hidden overpricing ... I know that an NGO could have opened it in a day.

“Four weeks ago I warned that we were heading into a third wave, but national government has the final say and that’s how it should be,” he added.

The message was clear: people need to abide by level 3 regulations and the infection rate will slow down.

Provincial command council chair Dr Mary Kawanga said the province has a 34.1% positivity rate. She added that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended a below 5% infection rate for the virus to be considered under control. None of SA’s provinces have a positivity rate below 10%.

Kawanga said it usually takes two weeks to see the results of new restrictions. Alert level 3 only kicked in on June 15, but so far indications are that Gauteng is headed for a worst-case scenario.

Makhura warned that the peak of infections will be in two weeks.

Prof Bruce Mellado, who advises Makhura and the health department, said the increase in infections is due to inadequate adherence to Covid-19 restrictions, coupled with the amount of travel undertaken by Gauteng residents. SA’s northern provinces are all experiencing a third wave and most share borders with Gauteng.

Mellado said the infection rate follows worst-case scenario predictions, but that the spikes on Tuesday and Wednesday were concerning.

Gauteng health MEC Nomsa Jajula said 28% of Gauteng’s target population has been vaccinated — 584,458 people out of 1,3 million.