KNYSNA | BITOU NEWS – The latest developments on the global Covid-19 pandemic carries bad news and good news for Knysna. The bad news is that we could well be entering into our third wave of the Covid-19 onslaught.
The good news is that Knysnarians can finally start rolling up their sleeves for their vaccinations from today. (Which in turn is bad news for anti-vaxxers.)
Read here: Early bird catches the vax!
But while Knysna's roll-out finally kicks off today, it took so long to catch up with the neighbouring towns that Knysnarians had started to wonder if their vaccination programme constituted a "Covid operation".
Vaccinations in neighbouring towns started in earnest from as far back as two weeks ago with George offering jabs to the public on 28 May. In Plett, Covid-19 vaccinations got off to an equally smooth start when the Plett Town Clinic became the first public site to open in Bitou on 2 June for those with registration appointments.
Further afield urban centres, from Heidelberg to Ladismith and Oudshoorn, were all offered jabs before Knysna, including outposts such as Riversdale, Witsand, Melkfontein and Zoar.
The Department of Health this week denied neglecting Knysna and stated that it lagged behind the others because the Knysna Hospital proved unsuited as a vaccination centre.
According to spokesperson Nadia Ferreira, the facility opened in Plettenberg Bay because it was ready-equipped after being prepared for the Phase 1 vaccinations of healthcare workers.
Healthcare workers from Knysna were transported to Plett (and/or George) for their vaccinations. At the time of going to print KPH had not received an explanation from the Department of Health as to why no facility was made available in Knysna to vaccinate healthcare workers.
One of the first members of the public to receive their vaccination in Bitou was 67-year-old John Krigga, who was pleased to have done his part in keeping his community safe. "I am excited to get the vaccine today in order to protect myself and others in my community," Krigga said.
Ferreira earlier said that as more vaccines arrive in the province, the Western Cape will be able to open more sites and vaccinate more people. "More appointments will be scheduled, and therefore more SMSs will be distributed to people to attend their appointment slots at public vaccination sites."
She added the Garden Route District had, as of Monday 7 June, vaccinated 6 535 people, 942 of which had been done through private healthcare, since the roll-out of Phase 2 of the vaccination campaign.
"While we do our best to assist walk-ins, we cannot guarantee that you will get vaccinated if you don't have an appointment. No one week will be the same, and we have adjusted and adapted to ensure we are agile, and always providing the best possible services to our residents."
Garden Route District Health Director Zee Brickles said he would like to assure the public that they are very eager to start vaccinating as many people as they can over the shortest space of time.
"Our ability to open vaccination sites is dependent on the amount of vaccine doses we receive from the national Department of Health and as more vaccine doses become available, we ramp up our vaccination reach through bringing more sites on line and open up more appointments.
"We endeavour to vaccinate all our communities in the Garden Route who have indicated that they wish to take the vaccine, over the next few weeks. Please bear with us as we roll out our campaign," he said.
In the interim, figures indicate both Knysna and Bitou are still edging towards a possible third wave.
As at Tuesday 8 June, Knysna had recorded a total of 4 916 cases of Covid-19, of which 4 712 have recovered, 158 have died, and 46 are active cases. This indicates 20 new cases in the seven days between 1 and 8 June.
Although a slight drop from last week's considerable increase, it is still significant. The number of active cases is at its highest at 46 since 10 February. The single death is an increase for the first time in four weeks.
In Bitou matters are similar. As at Tuesday, 2 854 Covid-19 cases had been recorded, with 2 712 having recovered, 101 having died, and 41 being active cases. This shows a total of 19 new cases recorded between 1 and 8 June, a small drop from the previous week. 
The number of active cases is now the joint-highest since 27 January and level with 3 February. The death tally has stayed the same.
Knysna's vaccination drive for members of the public over the age of 60 will commence today, Thursday 10 June, at the Knysna Town Hall from 09:00, and will continue on Friday 11 June from the same time. In Plett, the Plett Town Clinic first welcomed vaccine seekers on Wednesday and will continue today and tomorrow.
READ HERE: A sharp rise in Garden Route Covid-19 cases
The roll-out of vaccines in the Western Cape has also been impacted by a shortage of supplies.
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