Update on Covid-19

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3 April 2020

As at today the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 1505- this is an increase of 43 new cases from yesterday.

I continue to emphasize that we should not be complacent about the lower than expected increase in cases- we will only have a clear sense of the country status once we have embarked on our community screening and testing programme, which we expect to roll out in a couple of days.

We are very saddened to report two new deaths in KwaZulu Natal:
An 80 year old male who passed away on 1 April 2020. He had no travel history and was admitted to hospital.
An 81 year old female who also had no travel history and was admitted to hospital. She passed away on 2 April.

Yesterday, I mentioned that there were two deaths which were still being assessed- we are still awaiting those reports.

Therefore, this brings the current total confirmed COVID-19 related deaths to 7 (with 2 pending reports).

We are very grateful that our current reality is that the vast majority of patients are mild presentations that we are able to manage out of hospital.

Western Cape

Today I was very pleased to engage the Provincial leadership of the Western Cape and to visit the community and facilities in Khayelitsha.

As we all know the Western Cape is the second most affected province in the country and so I was very keen to see the progress that has been made in this region.

Initially, the first few cases they were largely imported. Increasingly the western cape is seeing local and sporadic transmission. We are also seeing increasing hospital admissions.

It was very gratifying to see that distribution of cases has been well analyzed with geographic mapping. Of particular importance is robust tracking and tracing in order to understand the contacts that are associated with a particular infection and the related socio-economic dynamics that are emerging. We are now seeing spillover into vulnerable communities from densely populated areas- therefore the proactive community screening and testing programme could not be more timely.

We are very impressed with the work done here at the Province and support the approach they are taking. We wish to indicate that we are ready to support to ensure that we are able to meet the demands not only of COVID-19 but also of the impending disease burden that comes with the winter season. We have also reached out to WHO, who have indicated their willingness to assist with reinforcements not only in the Western Cape but in all the different provinces.

Video-conference with South African and Chinese Experts

We had a very interesting video-conference session with Chinese experts who had managed the outbreak in Shanghai, Wuhan and Beijing addressing a South African expert cohort including:

- Deputy Minister Dr Joe Phaahla
- Members of the Executive Council of Health and their Heads Of Department,
- the Ministerial Advisory Committee and
- senior members of the Department of Health.

We were also joined by the regional director and country representative of WHO and other country experts.

Update 1:

4 April 2020

As at today, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 1585. This is an increase of 80 from the previously reported cases.

The provincial breakdown is as follows:

The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted to date is 53 937.

POSITIVE CASES FROM NETCARE ST AUGUSTINE’S HOSPITAL – DURBAN, KZN

We have received a report from KZN Health MEC, Ms Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu that KwaZulu-Natal has 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to St Augustine’s Hospital, in Durban. Furthermore, 3 of the deceased patients from KZN had been admitted at the hospital.

The COVID-19 positive cases include patients, health workers and other staff members. The KZN Department of Health and Netcare management agreed that the affected sections of the hospital be closed and no new patient admissions be permitted. This is a precautionary measure to allow for a thorough identification of areas within the hospital where there may have been infection control lapses.

The areas that were exposed to positive patients are also being disinfected. At this stage more than 150 tests have been conducted within the hospital and contact tracing is underway. We have advised that more tests be done on both staff and patients in order to determine the true extent of the existence of the infection in the facility, which may call for further interventions.

As part of intensifying the contact tracing and testing process, MEC Simelane-Zulu has also requested that Netcare avails a list of its patients that were exposed to the hospital as from the beginning of March.

We support this call and therefore make a public announcement that if you were a patient at St Augustine’s Hospital from 1 March 2020 to date, we request that you contact the KZN Department of Health.

We convey our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased. We also thank the doctors, health workers and all staff members of this hospital for their commitment to serve even during these difficult times.

Issued by Zwelini Mkhize, Minister of Health, 4 April 2020