COVID data: Three SA provinces could become ‘the next Gauteng’
According to the latest COVID-19 figures, other provinces are likely to follow the same devastating course that Gauteng has been on during the third wave.
As COVID-19 continues to spread like wildfire across the country, Gauteng’s rising rates of infections are yet to show any sign of slowing down. South Africa was relegated to Level 4 lockdown restrictions at the start of the week, but it may be some time before we see these new laws stem the tide of a virus resurgence.
What provinces are in line to ‘do a Gauteng’?
What is more, Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has outlined her fears of where the next ‘COVID hot-spot’ could emerge in South Africa. As well as revealing some stark details about SA’s coronavirus hot-spot, the senior politician identified other provinces that are soon likely to experience ‘the trend already seen in Gauteng‘.
“In Gauteng, we remain very worried about the rise in hospitalisations, which is putting a lot of strain on the health facilities The private health hospitals are currently operating at more than 100% capacity and public health hospitals are edging closer to full capacity.”
“The trends are clearly showing that other provinces which are currently lagging are going to experience the trend we are seeing in Gauteng, most notably in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.”
Western Cape, Eastern Cape have glum forecasts – and LIMPOPO is also a worry
Nationally, the third wave numbers have surpassed the first wave peak and are likely to surpass the second wave peak. The new variant, called the Delta variant, is quickly becoming the dominant variant in the country, replacing both the Alpha variant experienced in the first wave and Beta variant experienced in the second wave.
The test positivity rate – which measures how many people who get a COVID-19 test actually have the disease – has been ticking up across the country. But there are now fears that Limpopo will be one of the next provinces to see hospitalisations spike, after it was revealed that over FOUR IN TEN people getting tests are infected with the virus.
“It is not just Gauteng that is in trouble. In the last 24 hours, there are 21 584 new cases, which is higher than the average number of new cases per day over the seven preceding days measured at 16 916 cases. The positivity testing rate has also increased to 28.4%”
“What worries us as well, is the positivity rate. If you look at Limpopo, it has almost 42% of positivity rate, which is leading in terms of all positivity rates across all provinces.”
