DURBAN - PREMIER Sihle Zikalala and Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane on Sunday confirmed that KwaZulu-Natal is now in the third wave of Covid-19.
Zikalala said that for the past three days the province recorded more than 3 000 new Covid-19 cases and was reporting the second-highest number of daily confirmed cases – more than 2 000 new cases.
“Our third wave appears to be due to the sustained increase in the rate of new infections. The surge in cases appears to have been driven, in the main, by the recent large gatherings of people engaging in looting and destruction of property; an increase in interprovincial travel; and large gatherings at pubs and restaurants,” Zikalala said.
The province has recorded a total of 427 908 Covid-19 cases, 373 806 have recovered, 40 703 are active and 12 535 people have died.
“Our province, nevertheless, remains the third highest in terms of laboratory-confirmed cases, contributing 16% or 427 908 of the cases countrywide. The average number of cases recorded daily, using the seven-day moving average, was 2 518 cases per day,” Zikalala said.
He said that last week the province observed a 31% increase in the number of new cases (4 641), an increase in the incidence risk from 116 to 131 cases per 100 000 population group, an increase in eight districts, with the exception of Amajuba, uThukela and uMzinyathi; while eThekwini, uMgungundlovu, Ilembe, King Cetshwayo and Zululand observed a drastic increase in cases and an increase in the number of hospitalisations in public and private health facilities with some reporting extremely high occupancy rates in intensive care unit beds.
A rise in confirmed cases in the province resulted in an increase in the number of deaths.
A 16% increase in the number of deaths was noted over the past week as compared to the week before.
“The fatality rate now stands at 3% (3% deaths among people who tested positive), with a mortality rate of 110 deaths per 100 000 population group (risk of dying in the KZN population and respective districts due to Covid19).
“Harry Gwala, Amajuba, uMkhanyakude and uMzinyathi districts have an even higher case fatality rate, at more than 4%,” Zikalala said.
Simelane described the situation as “very dire”.
She said the province recorded 3603 new Covid-19 cases last Friday and they had recently discussed that in seven days they had between 2 400 and 2 200 cases a day, with three or four days registering 2 800 cases. Thereafter, the province went down to about 1 000 before rising to 3 000 two days later.
“We’ve been asked why there are so many infections.
“We wish to remind people that South Africa had reached the third wave (but) I think it was the province of KwaZulu-Natal and one or two provinces that had not reached the third wave,” Simelane said.
“When we look, maybe if we didn’t have the unrest that we had, where people were touching… maybe we wouldn’t have got to this point.
“Due to unrest, the virus spread. That’s why today we find ourselves in the third wave.”
Daily News