KNYSNA | PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The past three months have seen the nationwide lockdown level drop twice, and with it now at Level 2, we take a look at what the Covid-19 numbers tell us about the pandemic in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay.

At the start of June, South Africans rejoiced when the country was dropped from Level 4 to Level 3, but little did they realise how it would affect the number of cases. 

In both Knysna and Bitou, June and July saw a drastic spike in total case numbers as the economy was gradually reopened. The week ending on 24 July reported the town's highest number of new Covid-19 cases, with 258 cases added from the week prior.

But by the end of July, when intra-provincial leisure travel was allowed again, the worst was seemingly over for Knysna, as the number of new cases dropped to 155 on 7 August, down from 197 the week before. In Bitou, however, intra-provincial travel might have added to their woes as the number of new cases rose to 84 on 7 August (the area's second-highest number of new cases), up from 79 the week before.

Thereafter, new cases in both areas decreased, but when Level 2 was introduced on 18 August it led to a slight rise in the number of new cases in Knysna in that week. Bitou would only increase the following week, however. 

When the latest figures were released on Friday 4 September, both areas showed a marked decrease in the number of new cases as Knysna only reported 32 new cases and Bitou only reported nine new cases during the week prior.

As of 4 September, Knysna stood at a total of 1 370 Covid-19 cases, of which 1 275 were recoveries, 46 were deaths, and 49 were active cases. In Bitou, there was a total of 579 cases of which 534 were recoveries, 22 were deaths, and 23 were active cases.

Take a look at the graphs below to see how the figures have behaved since 19 June (this date was selected as it is around this time that numbers started rising significantly).

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