As of Thursday the total number of infections in the Province stood at 22 575.
WHILE the number of Covid-19 infections have appeared to stabilise in the Northern Cape, residents have been cautioned to continue adhering to the health regulations.
Despite fears of a second wave, many residents have become complacent regarding the use of face masks and maintaining social distancing.
As of Thursday, November 12, an additional 73 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the Northern Cape, bringing the total number of infections in the Province to 22 575 people.
Of the new confirmed cases, 18 people tested positive in the Frances Baard District, 13 in Pixley ka Seme, 11 in ZF Mgcawu, John Taolo Gaetsewe 10 and 21 in Namakwa.
The Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said that the Province had recorded 301 Covid-19-related deaths so far.
The recovery rate in the Province is 83 percent.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his address to the nation on Wednesday evening, had raised concern over “higher than expected” average rates of new infections in the Frances Baard and Pixley ka Seme regions.
The spokesperson for the Office of the Premier, Bronwyn Thomas-Abrahams, pointed out that while the Northern Cape had been predicted to experience a peak in Covid-19 infections in September, the number of cases have started decreasing.
“There were a high number of positive cases during September to October. The good news, however, is that cases are decreasing drastically. The majority of cases did not experience severe symptoms and, as a result, the health facilities managed to deal with Covid-19 cases that needed admission to hospital.”
She added that health facilities had sufficient equipment to deal with the pandemic. “The front-line staff managed to deal with hospitalised cases during the peak.”
Thomas-Abrahams stated that it was imperative to continue following the Covid-19 regulations over the festive season.
“All entities and businesses are expected to adhere to Covid -19 regulations at all times or face prosecution by law enforcement agents. That will ensure that cases do not increase. The entire country is concerned about adherence during the festive season as that may cause a spike in Covid-19 cases.”
She added that the pandemic had negatively affected all sectors of the economy, where jobs were shed across all sectors, including mining, agriculture and tourism.
“We are, however, expecting a steady improvement since the president has announced the economic recovery package as an immediate intervention.”
“The Province has also approved a recovery package that will focus on small, medium and micro enterprises and low, medium and high-impact projects including catalytic projects within the next few months.”
She urged all citizens to remain vigilant and to continue to wear masks and keep social distance of one to two metres at all times in line with the Covid-19 guidelines.
“We are also urging communities to regularly wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or alternatively use hand sanitiser with about 60 percent alcohol content.
“It is important to sneeze or cough into a bent elbow or tissue that should be discarded immediately.”
