East London remains the epicentre of the pandemic in BCM. On May 22, the metro had 560 Covid-19 cases, which rose to 5,093 in seven weeks.
As of July 9 there were 10,886 cases in the metro.
Alfred Nzo District has recorded seven deaths in 1,528 cases. Amathole has recorded 95 deaths in 3,936 cases.
Chris Hani Distruct has had 119 deaths in 4,978 cases.
The Sarah Baartman district recorded 51 deaths in 2,957 cases.
Statistics released by BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya on Sunday show that Mdantsane's NU14, 16 and 18 top the list with 119 cases. Ward 28, which comprises Beacon Bay, Beaconhurst, Blue Bend and Bonza Bay has 103 cases and so does ward 22, which includes KwaNdayi, Luxhomo, Mabeleni, Zone 17, Potsdam, Kulogaxa, Mntlabathi, Nxamnkwana and Mbholompeni.
In his weekly newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was clear evidence that the resumption of alcohol sales had resulted in substantial pressure being put on hospitals, including trauma and ICU units, due to motor vehicle accidents, violence and other alcohol-related trauma.
It was for this reason that the booze ban was reinstated.
“BCM reiterates its call to all people living in or visiting the metro to exercise extra caution as this is a highly infected area,” Ngwenya said.
“It’s actually a no-brainer that during lockdown levels 5 and 4, when there were no sales of alcohol, our statistics were very low in terms of law enforcement.
“Obviously the restrictions on movement contributed but the issue of alcohol was also a factor. So as the city we welcome the announcements by the national command council and we will be implementing them in full force. We expect residents to abide by them. As a coronavirus hotspot area, we have no room for chance takers. We expect businesses, taxi operators and everyone else who was cited or implicated by the new rulings to abide by them.
“The BCM command council will be going through its law enforcement statistics this week and comparing them with new ones that we will receive in the upcoming weeks, and we should be in a position to say scientifically whether or not the ban has been effective. Yes, from a law enforcement point of view we welcome this ruling,” said Ngwenya.
Eastern Cape's two metros still Covid-19 infection hotspots
Image: 123rf.com/betonstudio
The Eastern Cape has racked up more that 50,000 Covid-19 cases, and it is the province's two metros that lead in terms of number of infections.
Nelson Mandela Bay is top of the heap with 14,453 infections, followed by Buffalo City Metro with 12,359 infections, according to statistics provided by the National Coronavirus Command Council.
In terms of Covid-19 deaths, the OR Tambo district had 141 deaths followed by BCM with 133 and Nelson Mandela Bay with 119.
“Regrettably, the province has lost another 22 patients to Covid-19,” Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane said on his Facebook page on Sunday night.
East London remains the epicentre of the pandemic in BCM. On May 22, the metro had 560 Covid-19 cases, which rose to 5,093 in seven weeks.
As of July 9 there were 10,886 cases in the metro.
Alfred Nzo District has recorded seven deaths in 1,528 cases. Amathole has recorded 95 deaths in 3,936 cases.
Chris Hani Distruct has had 119 deaths in 4,978 cases.
The Sarah Baartman district recorded 51 deaths in 2,957 cases.
Statistics released by BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya on Sunday show that Mdantsane's NU14, 16 and 18 top the list with 119 cases. Ward 28, which comprises Beacon Bay, Beaconhurst, Blue Bend and Bonza Bay has 103 cases and so does ward 22, which includes KwaNdayi, Luxhomo, Mabeleni, Zone 17, Potsdam, Kulogaxa, Mntlabathi, Nxamnkwana and Mbholompeni.
In his weekly newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was clear evidence that the resumption of alcohol sales had resulted in substantial pressure being put on hospitals, including trauma and ICU units, due to motor vehicle accidents, violence and other alcohol-related trauma.
It was for this reason that the booze ban was reinstated.
“BCM reiterates its call to all people living in or visiting the metro to exercise extra caution as this is a highly infected area,” Ngwenya said.
“It’s actually a no-brainer that during lockdown levels 5 and 4, when there were no sales of alcohol, our statistics were very low in terms of law enforcement.
“Obviously the restrictions on movement contributed but the issue of alcohol was also a factor. So as the city we welcome the announcements by the national command council and we will be implementing them in full force. We expect residents to abide by them. As a coronavirus hotspot area, we have no room for chance takers. We expect businesses, taxi operators and everyone else who was cited or implicated by the new rulings to abide by them.
“The BCM command council will be going through its law enforcement statistics this week and comparing them with new ones that we will receive in the upcoming weeks, and we should be in a position to say scientifically whether or not the ban has been effective. Yes, from a law enforcement point of view we welcome this ruling,” said Ngwenya.
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