Expect more cluster outbreaks under level 4 — Mkhize

The Western Cape’s Covid-19 cluster outbreaks indicate what may happen when more sectors open up for business under level 4 lockdown regulations, health minister Zweli Mkhize said on Monday.

“I think the example of the Western Cape is what’s going to happen. We must expect that there would be areas where we will say we can proceed with bringing up normal economic activities and opening up various industries and transport routes and so on, but there will be areas where we might have to stop that and say we thought this was safe, it’s no longer safe, let’s go back,” Mkhize told a meeting of parliament’s oversight committees.

“It’s not ever  going to be a straightforward issue. If in one instance we would have understood that the rate of transmission is still very high, we would actually reduce the numbers of industries that must be started and be put in operation immediately.

“On the other hand, where we think things are getting well and the transmission rate is low, and the economic activities can be resumed, we will move into that.

“But as soon as we start picking [up that] the numbers are going up, we are forced to close down some of those sites.”

Mkhize said food outlets and pharmaceutical companies that remained open because they were essential services were where cluster outbreaks had occurred.

The government’s risk-adjusted approach was about balancing a return to normal activity vs a reduction of the risk of transmission of infection.

“The president has called it the risk-adjusted lifting of the lockdown and that basically means we will see how we classify the various levels. In this case we are at a level where the level of preparedness is very low and the level of transmissions very high.

“Now we have to move to a point where the level of preparedness is higher and the level of transmissions is lowest, and that goes through the five stages that have been highlighted,” he said.

Mkhize said the Western Cape’s pandemic response would be bolstered with more kits and checks on personal protection equipment.

The national government would also place additional doctors in the province, including Cuban doctors who arrived early on Monday.

The Western Cape has surpassed Gauteng with the most confirmed cases in SA.

In the Eastern Cape, outbreaks were mainly driven by funerals and in correctional facilities.

Infections shot up here over the past week, overtaking the Free State to fourth spot after KwaZulu-Natal.

“We had to put in reinforcements immediately there because this was located in an area which is densely populated —  the correctional services.

“We are now going to be looking at the distribution of the specialists coming from Cuba so that we can reinforce some of the places we are dealing with,” Mkhize added.

He  said in the Free State a church gathering was where many people had  got infected — but this  was now contained as the number of cases had remained stable for the past few weeks. — TimesLIVE

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