With Gauteng starting to see a decline in COVID-19 cases, the government on Friday raised concerns about the high number of hospitalized patients.
The command council, led by Premier David Makhura, gave an update on its COVID-19 response.
The council said it believed the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the province had peaked.
However, it announced that over 5,338 patients were battling with the respiratory virus in the hospital – with 1,457 in ICU requiring mechanical ventilation.
Gauteng has seen a significant reduction in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, with the provincial command council attributing this decline to the rapid adjusted level 3 regulations.
The council’s public health specialist, Mary Kawonga, said the escalation of COVID-19 cases in December and early January put a strain on the health system – with the bulk of new hospitalizations in the city of Johannesburg.
“New hospitalizations is an important indicator because in addition to new cases, it is also showing us the extent of community transmission and so when we start seeing hospital admissions increase then we know that the risk of transmission is higher in the community and there is a lot of viral spread going on.”
Makhura said while the data was promising, it was important for citizens to remain cautious and vigilant.
“Yes, the pandemic in our province is plateauing but the pressure on the healthcare system is still there.”
Makhura said the government would now turn its attention to rolling out its vaccination programme as the country geared up to inoculate healthcare workers.
The province has over 700 sites that are currently registered with the national health department as vaccination sites for phase one.
While Gauteng has secured over 2,000 centres for phases two and three.
The province needs to inoculate about 10 million residents to reach herd immunity.
-EWN
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