COVID-19: Six worrying figures from the Eastern Cape – SA’s new ‘hot-spot’
Amid warnings of a ‘second wave of COVID-19‘ coming from the very top in South Africa, it seems that the Eastern Cape could well become the latest hot-spot for the coronavirus. Data from Sunday reveal that the province is seeing cases rise faster than anywhere else in the country – the figures are indeed stark.
‘Hard lockdown’ fears stoked by provincial caseloads
The Eastern Cape is one of only two provinces that is seeing COVID-19 infections increase. The Western Cape has also seen an uptick, but their caseload is dwarfed by EC. Transmission of the virus has soared in this part of South Africa, with most new cases currently being registered within these provincial borders.
Although the government is keen to avoid a hard lockdown, separate measures by province cannot be ruled out. Last month, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala warned that locals would likely face some sort of return to our strictest regulations ‘during the festive period’. But the Eastern Cape is now in pole position for a swift intervention:
Eastern Cape COVID-19 numbers – what’s causing concern?
(Figures supplied by the Health Department, NICD, and Sugan Naidoo)
- The number of average cases for last week was 433.6 (per 100 000 people). This week, it stands at 616.4.
- The average caseload is now ‘more than doubling’ over the last 14 days.
- About 45% of all new cases reported on Sunday are solely from the Eastern Cape.
- In terms of mortality, 19 of the 23 deaths recorded yesterday were in this province – that’s 82% of the national total.
- The Eastern Cape has the second-highest number of patients currently on ventilators, with 51 people needing respiratory assistance. Only the densely populated region of Gauteng – with three major metros in close proximity – fares worse.
- The province’s 748 hospitalised COVID-19 patients is also second only to Gauteng.
New cases for EC
— sugan naidoo (@sugan2503) November 8, 2020
• Average last week was 433.6 and this week it's 616.4 – average more than doubling over the last 2 weeks
• Hospitals numbers have also gone up quickly… actually everything is going up except testing, more testing needs to be done pic.twitter.com/B9Nu4UuQAG
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