POLITICS

Eight more Covid-19 deaths – Alan Winde

WCape Premier says there are 3 128 active cases in the province

Media Release: Update on the coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde

20 October 2020

As of 1pm on 20 October, the Western Cape has 3128 active Covid-19 infections with a total of 113 864 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 106 440  recoveries.

Total confirmed COVID-19 cases

113 864

Total recoveries

106 440

Total deaths

4296

Total active cases (currently infected patients)

3128

Tests conducted

584 449

Hospitalisations

527 with 115 of these in ICU or high care

Cape Metro Sub-districts:

 Sub-district

Cases

 

Recoveries

Western

10266

 9353

Southern

10368

 9515

Northern

7130

6699

Tygerberg

13852

 13080

Eastern

10639

 9977

Klipfontein

9472

 8783

Mitchells Plain

8879

 8375

Khayelitsha

8451

 7996

Total

79057

73833

Sub-districts:

 District

 Sub-district

Cases

Recoveries

Garden Route

Bitou

657

618

Garden Route

Knysna

1595

1534

Garden Route

George

3740

3495

Garden Route

Hessequa

341

315

Garden Route

Kannaland

136

124

Garden Route

Mossel Bay

2510

2382

Garden Route

Oudsthoorn

1559

1391

Cape Winelands

Stellenbosch

2188

2044

Cape Winelands

Drakenstein

4534

4268

Cape Winelands

Breede Valley

3513

3363

Cape Winelands

Langeberg

1186

1122

Cape Winelands

Witzenberg

1656

1566

Overberg

Overstrand

1689

1610

Overberg

Cape Agulhas

308

287

Overberg

Swellendam

357

344

Overberg

Theewaterskloof

1226

1153

West Coast

Bergrivier

493

442

West Coast

Cederberg

171

164

West Coast 

Matzikama

659

549

West Coast

Saldanha Bay Municipality

1479

1364

West Coast

Swartland

1683

1572

Central Karoo

Beaufort West

829

735

Central Karoo

Laingsburg

142

132

Central Karoo

Prince Albert

34

33

Unallocated: 2122 (2000 recovered)

Data note: It is not always possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new recorded case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas. 

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 8 deaths,  bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 4296. We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

PERO and MERO set the scene for Western Cape recovery:

Today, Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier tabled the PERO and MERO documents in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.

Minister Maynier's speech and the documents can be accessed here: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/provincial-treasury/news/minister-david-maynier-tables-pero-and-mero-we-can-and-we-will-bounce-back-western-cape

These research documents provide insight into key economic trends in the Western Cape and in its municipalities. I'd like to thank Minister Maynier and the team at Treasury for the hard work that went into preparing these documents which provide the information we need to make important decisions around our recovery.

This year's documents show us the impact that Covid-19 has had on our economy. They predict a slow recovery at an average annual rate of 1% between 2020 and 2024. The province is still expected to grow at a faster rate than the rest of the country's economy, which is predicted to grow at 0.7% between 2020 and 2024.

These two documents outline the many risks we face in the South African economy but also point to the opportunities that exist for investment and growth in the Western Cape. These include opportunities in sectors including agriculture, agri-processing, business process outsourcing (BPO) and the green economy.

These documents and Minister Maynier's sketch the situation we face and set the scene for my speech on Thursday in which I will detail the province's plans for recovery going forward. 

During the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic the Western Cape Government committed to providing appropriate care for those who needed it and we were able to deliver that to our citizens. We did this by working differently, by innovating and harnessing the skills, and knowledge of the people working in the public service. We were also able to respond to both the health and the humanitarian needs of our citizens by building partnerships with local governments, the private sector and civil society.

Our recovery plan will use that same hard work, innovative thinking and agile approach to address our key areas of focus including jobs, safety and dignity and well-being. The first step in achieving the targets we set for ourselves in each of these areas, has been to confront the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in, and to make the sometimes difficult decisions to ensure that we are able to meet the most immediate and growing needs of the people of this province at a time when budgets are shrinking.

The people of this province joined together to slow the spread of Covid-19, to protect others and to help in their communities when it was needed most, so I have no doubt, that with the same energy, from government, from businesses and from each and every citizen, we will recover.

Issued by Western Cape Office of the Premier, 20 October 2020