HON. MEC FOR HEALTH IN KZN, MS NOMAGUGU SIMELANE,
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS PRESENT TODAY,
MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
OPENING WELCOME
We wish to once again welcome and thank the members of the media for gracing us with your presence at this media briefing. As we continue to navigate our way around this pandemic, it is thanks to our partnership with yourselves that our people are able to stay safe and suitably informed about the latest developments concerning COVID - 19, and what they need to do to protect themselves.
Siyabonga ngokuba khona kwenu. Sicela niqhubeke nokubambisana nathi, ningapheli amandla. Lempi esibhekene nayo ngeke sayinqoba ngaphandle kwenu.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY
We wish to convey warm wishes to all fathers on Father’s Day. Our country is blessed with many good men who are taking care of their families and loved ones. We pay tribute to the men who act as guardians and mentors to families As we honour these good men of our country, we ask them to pay attention to raising children who will grow up honouring the dignity and humanity of girls and women of our land.
Our country desperately needs its good men and exemplary fathers to build a South Africa which is at peace with itself and the world. Once again, Happy Father’s Day.
“DIAMOND” RUSH AT KWAHLATHI
We have spent the past few days closely observing developments in the KwaHlathi area of Ladysmith, which have resulted in people flocking there in large numbers and digging, in the hope that they will find diamonds.
We have been concerned by this large gathering, which has carried the potential of being a COVID – 19 super-spreader event.
We are always appealing to the people of KwaZulu-Natal to respect all COVID – 19 regulations in all that they do, in order to limit the spread of the virus.
People should be honest and responsible enough on their own, by doing the right thing, even when no-one is watching. Here, we are not only referring to the people who went to KwaHlathi, but to society in general.
We cannot, and should not, conduct ourselves in a manner that compromises us or our loved ones in any way.
In the same breath, we welcome the deployment of a delegation made up of geo-scientists, government officials, and other interested parties to KwaHlathi earlier this week.
We are aware that today a delegation from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the KZN Government led by MEC’s for EDTEA Ravi Pillay and MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Peggy Nkonyeni are engaging with stakeholders and will together with relevant bodies pronounce on the outcomes today at 16h00pm. This will bring certainity for the people on whether what has been found there are, indeed, precious stones or something else.
EMERGING TRENDS IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS
Ladies and Gentlemen, this media briefing is taking place five days after President Ramaphosa placed the country on Alert Level 3. This was in response to the rising infection rate in various parts of the country, which is extremely concerning for us.
Although our own figures as a province are still fluctuating and do not show that we have peaked yet; there are, nevertheless, worrying signs of what appears to be a sustained increase in the infection rate.
About a month ago, KwaZulu-Natal was registering an average of 130 to 150 new infections. Sometimes, our infections would go as low as 70 to 80 or so. But over the past two weeks or so, we have been recording more than 500 new cases each day; with only a few exceptions, where the number would be around 400.
Worryingly, the province did cross the resurgence line on the 9th of June 2021, but then dropped below the alert threshold on the 10th of June 2021, on the 15th June we again crossed the alert line but currently we have remained below the threshold since the 16th June.
In terms of our emergency early warning systems, a 10% increase in cases over a 7 day moving average will trigger an alert; while a 20% increase in cases over a 7 day moving average will trigger resurgence, which may indicate that we are entering a third wave of COVID – 19 infections.
Be that as it may, there are many signs that COVID – 19 is still around, and deadly as ever.
In fact, when you look at other provinces, you begin to realise that KwaZulu-Natal has been extremely fortunate that our numbers are still where they are.
But we want to make one thing clear: the fact that our numbers are relatively low should, under no circumstances, mean that we must be complacent.
COVID STATUS QUO:
The Province of KwaZulu-Natal Province continues to rank as the second-highest in terms of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases countrywide, contributing 19% or 346 329 of the cases.
We rank as the fourth highest in terms of fatalities countrywide, following Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Western Cape.
Within the latest 24-hour reporting period, the province has reported 589 new COVID – 19 infections and 1 new fatality, bringing to 10 615 the number of people who have passed away due to COVID – 19 in the Province, since the pandemic started.
In the past two weeks, the overall percentage change in number of new cases between week 24 & 25 was 40%. The actual number of new cases was 1 772 for week 24; and 2 943 for week 25 respectively.
Ten districts had an increase of more than a third of the cases received a week ago with the exception of Harry Gwala. The increase in the number of cases is also evident in the incidence risk and the average cases (7-day moving average).
The incidence risk increased from 16 to 26 cases per 100 000 population in the past two weeks.
Five Districts, which are EThekwini, UMgungundlovu, UThukela, Amajuba and UMzinyathi, continuously received the highest number of cases on a daily basis.
Only Harry Gwala District observed a remarkable decline in number of new cases in the past week, at – 64%.
Again, all of this should serve as proof of how real the threat of a resurgence really is.
The number of hospital isolations continues to fluctuate, with a slight increase in daily admissions in both private and public sector, including ICU and patients requiring ventilation.
THREAT OF SCHOOL HOLIDAYS AND INTER-PROVINCIAL TRAVEL
The current increase in cases is driven, to a large extent, by school and family clusters. We are concerned with the upcoming winter school break due to the fact that our second wave happened during holiday seasons as many people travelled to the Province for the holidays.
We welcome all the visitors who will be enjoying themselves at our beaches and other areas, however, we urge everyone to understand that we will not compromise on compliance with Covid-19 protocols. Everyone should actually become much more vigilant than before in curbing the spread of the virus
We re-iterate that no events should violate the level 3 lock down regulations. Those who violate regulations will face the full might of the law.
The Province is nevertheless prepared for any resurgence of cases in terms of bed availability and oxygen capacity.
We are urging citizens to go to the nearest health facility:
• If they have been in contact with a confirmed case
• If they have flu-like symptoms
• If they generally feel unwell
DISTRIBUTION OF CASES BY REPORTING DATE AND DISTRICT
Of the 589 new cases recorded on 19 June 2021, eThekwini District recorded 37% followed by UThukela (14%), UMgungundlovu (12%) and Amajuba (6%) Districts.
The average number of cases received in the past seven days was 459 cases/day; while the median number of cases was 338 cases per day.
Distribution of cases and deaths by district, KwaZulu-Natal, 5 Mar 2020–19 June 2021
District New cases %. New cases Total cases %.Total cases New deaths Total deaths %. Total deaths Case Fatality rate (%)
EThekwini 220 37.4 162 630 47.0 0 3 873 36.5 2.4
ILembe 31 5.3 23 178 6.7 0 579 5.5 2.5
UMgungundlovu 72 12.2 37 492 10.8 1 1 635 15.4 4.4
UThukela 81 13.8 14 861 4.3 0 522 4.9 3.6
King Cetshwayo 29 4.9 29 471 8.5 0 1 076 10.1 3.7
UGu 15 2.5 18 627 5.4 0 601 5.7 3.2
Amajuba 67 11.4 13 576 3.9 0 683 6.4 5.0
UMkhanyakude 3 0.5 11 224 3.2 0 419 3.9 3.7
Harry Gwala 6 1.0 9 293 2.7 0 409 3.9 4.4
Zululand 22 3.7 14 590 4.2 0 410 3.9 2.8
UMzinyathi 35 5.9 7 671 2.2 0 408 3.8 5.5
Unallocated 8 1.4 3 626 1.0 0 0 0.0 0.0
Total 589 100.0 346 239 100.0 1 10 615 100.0 3.1
*NB: Due to transfer in and out of patients, some patients demise in the districts they were transferred to, contributing to change in number of deaths by district after reallocation.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AND ISOLATIONS
As of the 19th of June 2021, the province had 677 patients admitted in both private (n=554, 82%) and public (n=123, 18%) hospitals. Of those admitted, 110 or 17% of the patients required intensive care services. Private hospitals had more patients in ICU at 106 or 96%; than public facilities, which had 4 patients, amounting to 4%.
VACCINATION PROGRESS:
We continue to make significant headway with the vaccination of both our senior citizens aged 60 and above, as well as healthcare workers who could not be vaccinated during the first phase.
As of 18 June 2021, we had vaccinated 362 226 senior citizens; as well as 127 health workers.
The total number of senior citizens who are currently registered on the Electronic Vaccination Data System currently stands at 501 210.
The number of vaccination sites that we have now prepared for the Pfizer vaccine is 359; whereas for teachers, who will be receiving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine from 23 June to 08 July 2021, we have prepared 91 vaccination sites.
The Province is now vaccinating 13 000 people per day. We are intensifying vaccination of the elderly and increasing more capacity in our rural areas.
CONCLUSION,
A CALL TO ACTION: IT IS UP TO ALL OF US TO PREVENT INFECTIONS
Each and every one of us, in our little corner wherever we are, should be making sure that we contribute towards ensuring that the numbers that we are seeing do not amount to a calm before the storm.
The past two waves of COVID – 19 have shown us how brutal and vicious COVID – 19 can be. Bambalwa kakhulu abantu abangathi abakaze balahlekelwe amalunga omndeni noma yizihlobo ngenxa yalombulalazwe phambilini.
It is therefore up to us to ensure that we support our senior citizens by getting them registered for vaccination; and to also help them get vaccinated.
Each and every one of us has a duty to ensure that we avoid large gatherings; wear our masks at all times; wash our hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer regularly; and maintain social distancing.
We appeal to younger people to protect the elderly and those with co-morbidities by avoiding parties and large crowds; as well as wearing masks even at home.
It remains crucial for us to adhere to the non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as wearing of masks; maintaining social distancing; and washing our hands regularly with soap and water.
Once again, let’s protect the elderly and those with co-morbidities by wearing masks at all times, even at home; and avoiding large gatherings.
Thank You
ENDS