PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - While the corononavirus numbers are increasing in Plettenberg Bay, along with the rest of the country, the generosity of locals is also rising.
The Bitou Covid-19 Response Team has now received more than R4-million in donations.
Of this the Bitou Municipality has contributed R200 000 towards setting up isolation and quarantine facilities, just over a million rand for food parcels over Easter, and R600 000 for purchasing nutritional porridge.
According to the team, they have so far spent about R2.5-million on food aid and medical and personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as the isolation unit. "Unfortunately our total number of positive cases in the Garden Route is increasing. It is vital for us to behave responsibly, so once again, please wear your cloth mask when you leave your home, wash and sanitise your hands regularly, practise social distancing, avoid touching your face with unwashed hands and cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. If you feel unwell please stay at home and contact your doctor telephonically," the team said.
Door-to-door screening
Over the past three weeks, Hospice Plett community health workers and professional nurses have been conducting door-to-door Covid-19 screening in collaboration with the Western Cape health department. "The entire population of Kranshoek and Wittedrift has been screened and the group is currently busy with screening in Kwanokuthula. During the screening process, community members are also screened for TB and provided with cloth masks."
The team is still in the process of setting up the area's first isolation unit at the Piesang Valley Hall for patients infected with the coronavirus and are unable to isolate at home. The municipality has been carrying out essential maintenance of the hall over the past two weeks.
On the food aid front, Plett Tourism chief executive Marius Venter and local resident Rob Bokelmann, along with a large group of volunteers, have been working tirelessly to supply the growing number of people in need with food.
According to the team, the food aid initiative currently manages to provide 70 000 meals a week through soup kitchens and the distribution of JAM porridge and e'Pap. "The Bitiou Municipality, along with a group of private funders organised by local Tony Lubner, have secured sufficient funding to feed 10 000 people for the next couple of months."
The response team is also in the process of negotiating with the Click Foundation for additional funding. "The Click Foundation has already committed to supply Bitou with 33 tons of fortified maize meal."
Additional social support branch
The response team is also in the process of setting up an additional social support branch. "We feel that this is a perfect time to assist the community in any way we can, to grow their own food. We are attaching a permaculture specialist to every Bitou ward who will work with a team of volunteers in identifying those members of the community who are already growing their own food. The idea is to maximise production by identifying and working together to overcome obstacles." Any donations of gardening equipment, seeds and compost can be dropped off with Mary-Anne Cunningham at the Native Roots Shelter, Marine Way in Plettenberg Bay. "Our fund will be buying seeds for donation and we are in the process of endeavouring to set up a central composting site with the municipality," it said.
If anyone wants to volunteer as a gardener, email plettcovid19@gmail.com.
"We would like to thank the very generous and caring Bitou residents for your support. We are going to see a growing number of coronavirus cases in the next couple of weeks, however we feel that we have accomplished the task we originally set out to achieve, which was to ensure we have an adequate supply of medical equipment, medication and PPE; to generate a database of volunteers to assist the existing healthcare workers in Plett. Our current focus is to ensure that our communities do not go hungry and to slow the spread of the virus by distributing masks and educating our residents," the team said.
Bitou volunteers unloaded 16 tons of food relief last week.
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