NATIONAL NEWS - Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize announced on Friday morning in Bloemfontein that Covid-19 cases in SA had gone up to 202.
The Free State now had seven cases and only three provinces are yet to report infections.
The minister added that although government was calling for people to pray, prayer alone would not be enough to combat the spread of the virus, and people should avoid getting together to pray, but rather do so in their own homes or controlled spaces.
Mhize said that among the individuals from the Free State, they went to a church gathering of more than 200 people after travelling abroad. He expressed concern that anyone who came into contact with them would need to be tracked down and quarantined.
He did not say at which Free State city town or city the gathering was held.
“The members of the church will be evaluated in terms of their risk profile, watched and assessed in terms of their conduct. The numbers of the tracing team need to be reinforced.”
He said he’d met with the director of the Red Cross internationally, which has a presence in South Africa, and they would work with government in supporting the fight against the virus. He said the organisation already had experience in fighting Covid-19 in China and Europe.
The World Health Organisation had declared Europe the new epicentre of the infection. South Africa’s infections had largely come from Europe, said Mkhize.
He added that his team had met with the parents and teachers of a school in Bloemfontein, Brandwag, where two siblings were quarantined after their mother tested positive.
During a question-and-answer session with doctors in Pretoria, Mkhize had echoed statistics that have now become commonly expressed globally, including by German chancellor Angela Merkel, who earlier this month predicted that as much as 70% of German citizens would contract Covid-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
Mkhize told the doctors that 60% to 70% of South Africa are likely to contract the virus, though hopefully over a more extended period of time than would happen if containment measures were not in place.
Mkhize reassured South Africans again on Friday not to panic and the measures in place would spread out the rate of infection and most people would recover without treatment.
“Sixty to 70% of the communities will be affected by this virus,” he said last night. “So I said to the religious leaders that most of us will get this virus.”
He was referring to his meeting earlier in the day with the heads of major churches in South Africa.
Mkhize also repeated the statistic that only about 20% of these cases would be serious enough to require treatment. The fatality rate is between 2% and 3.5%.
He predicted a jump to more than 200 confirmed cases by Friday morning, which proved accurate, and that South Africa will be able to radically increase its testing capacity soon.
The expert consensus has been that a vaccine or might only be available by sometime next year, though an effective treatment is likely to come far earlier; the tactic of having people self-quarantine and keep their distance from each other is to ensure that citizens don’t all get the illness at the same time, thereby overwhelming the health system’s capacity and ability to deal with infections and treatment, popularly known as “flattening the curve”.
South Africa has adopted the same strategy, though a more comprehensive lockdown may be required.
Mkhize said on Friday: “We must mobilise to fight infections. We must flatten the curve. Simple hygiene is key to fighting Covid-19. Please heed the call to follow precautionary measures.”
Earlier, in a statement on Thursday afternoon, the health department confirmed that the Free State province was now newly affected, with those numbers yet to be added.
Mkhize added that it was pleasing that they were now seeing recoveries of previously reported Covid-19 cases.
“We are in the process of conducting further confirmation tests and medical examinations then we formally inform the public on the numbers of recoveries. At this stage, most of the patients are recovering well.”
No deaths have yet been reported.
The department said that Mkhize held an urgent teleconference with the CEOs of the private laboratories performing the Covid-19 tests.
At this meeting, the private laboratories expressed their commitment and willingness to “work hand in hand with government to perform the tests”.
“The meeting acknowledged that in order to allow for consistent reporting of cases, all information will be sent to the NICD in real time. There will be collaboration and proper compilation of the results, thereafter it will be released to the public.”
The health department added that Western Cape Health MEC Dr Mbombo informed the minister that she, together with her ministry staff, had gone into self-quarantine as a precaution after she came into contact with the French Consul-General who had earlier announced that he had tested positive.
“The MEC is feeling strong and has not exhibited any symptoms. She is now waiting to receive her results that will determine her way forward. We wish her well as we know that she has been criss-crossing the Western Cape province to ensure the state of preparedness of our health facilities for Covid-19 patients requiring admission.”
NICD information
Following the expansion of national-wide routine testing for SARS-CoV-2 in public and private laboratories, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, said it had started to transition to functioning as a reference and surveillance laboratory for Covid-19.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had earlier suggested that a portion of the day be set aside for the nation to “pause for a moment of prayer”, a moment of reflection and as a way of offering solidarity to those affected, afflicted and infected by the coronavirus.
However, he said this was still just a suggestion and that government was open to the “thoughts”, suggestions and proposals that religious leaders could bring forth amid the outbreak of Covid-19.
Ramaphosa encouraged religious leaders to make use of communication tools developed by the department of health that spell out what constitutes hygiene control and what to do to minimise the risk of infection and affirm these “not just in services and gatherings but in your pastoral work”.
