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Eastern Cape Premier, Lubabalo Mabuyane, said the province was making good progress in the fight against Covid19.
Addressing a media briefing on Tuesday, the Premier said this was largely due to the good cooperation of those citizens who adhered to lockdown regulations.
"If we continue to do that we will be out of restrictions soon and more economic activity will be allowed. We only need to wear our masks regularly, wash hands and sanitise and maintain physical distancing," he said.
Meanwhile, Mabuyane said the number of active cases in the province dropped from around 8 000 in December to around 5 000 presently.
He said the recovery rate was around 93% with good progress being made in the various districts, several of which were declared Covid19 hotspots.
"All our districts are back to a recovery rate of around 90% and above, and these are strong signs that we are moving towards the end of the second wave. The work that we are doing on the ground is actually seen out of these outcomes," he said.
Mabuyane said the Province remains cautious due to the uncertainty about some members of the public adhering to regulations.
"We are also acutely aware of the risks posed by the new Covid19 variant. In this regard, we continue to protect and strengthen our healthcare system to withstand any form of demand. In the implementation of our provincial resurgence management, there are no red flags that should cause our people alarm," the Premier said.
He also addressed concerns about "misinformation" about the shortage of beds and oxygen in state health facilities, saying "there is absolutely no truth" to these claims which he said was causing "unnecessary panic."
However, the Premier alluded to the fact that these issues may be rooted in management issues at health facilities which he said was being addressed.
Mabuyane said the province was also boosting staffing numbers by appointing 310 clinical staff who have completed their community service. He said a further 625 professional nurses completed their community service training in April and would be utilised in the frontline.
"We have a challenge of getting nurses, especially those who could staff critical care beds. We are working on these issues," he said.
The Premier also noted that there "were no shortage of beds" in the province for Covid19 patients, saying there are 4 309 general Covid19 beds available in public health facilities while admissions were 1 788. He said 637 "critical beds" were made available of which 160 are occupied.
"I must add that only 49% of our oxygenated beds are occupied. So, there is no truth to the (claims of) shortages of oxygenated beds either," the Premier said, adding that all regional and tertiary hospitals, as well as the VWSA, sponsored field hospital have wall-mounted oxygen points which are kept operational 24 hours.
