Supplied
Eastern Cape Premier, Lubabalo Mabuyane, says the province has witnessed a sustained decline in the number of new Covid19 cases in the past two months.
Addressing a media briefing in East London on Tuesday, the Premier said the Province was also encouraged by the significant decline in Covid19-related deaths and hospitalisation numbers.
Mabuyane said this has reduced the stress on the province's health system.
"Over the past couple of months, we have seen a glimmer of hope that an end to the terror of the pandemic can be
achieved. We have witnessed a sustained decline of new Covid 19 cases in February and March."
"What has worked wonders for us, in particular, has been the mandatory wearing of masks in public places, the enforcement of social distancing measures and the limitations on the number of people who attend gatherings," Mabuyane said.
The Premier said the Province was also encouraged by the significant decline in Covid 19 related deaths and
hospitalization numbers.
"In the last 24 hours, no death was reported in the province. In the current month, there are fewer SARS-Cov-2 cases and related deaths but a higher case fatality rate of 8.5%," Mabuyane said.
He said there were currently 98 patients admitted to hospital for Covid-19-related illnesses, with 48 patients in public health facilities and 50 in private healthcare facilities.
"This huge reduction in the number of admitted Covid-19 patients is allowing the department of health space to focus on revitalizing interventions to contain and manage other priority diseases," he added.
The Premier said the Easter Weekend "poses great risks to our province as people will be moving from the
Western Cape to spend time with their families in our province."
"Unfortunately we cannot close provincial boundaries to prevent our people from coming home. We have participated in the National Command Council processes and made our inputs. What we don’t want to see is a free for all Easter weekend, which will leave families crying for lost loved ones after Easter," he concluded.
