Gauteng Premier David Makhura.
@GautengProvince, Twitter
- The premier of Gauteng says that the pandemic is gaining momentum in the province
- Under the Level 3 lockdown, just over 3 000 cases were recorded in the province in just 11 days.
- Johannesburg was identified as a hotspot due to increased activity.
Gauteng needs to face the reality that the Covid-19 pandemic is gaining momentum.
This is the view of the province’s premier, David Makhura.
“The pandemic is gaining momentum in the Gauteng province. This is the critical message that I want to send and we have got to face this reality head on and where there is no compliance. This will undo any gains that we made during the lockdown,” he said during a virtual Provincial Coronavirus Command Council (PCCC) briefing on Friday.
The province recorded 7 953 confirmed cases, 2 890 recoveries and 57 deaths as of 11 June.
Makhura added that out of the total cases in the province, more than 3 000 were recorded in just 11 days of the Level 3 lockdown.
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The premier explained that before the lockdown, the province had 409 confirmed cases with no recoveries or deaths.
Increase in cases
When the country was under a Level 5 lockdown, Gauteng recorded 1 037 cases, 948 recoveries and 11 deaths.
Under Level 4, the province had 2 557 more confirmed cases, 1 166 recoveries and 22 deaths.
Level 3 of the lockdown commenced on 1 June, and within 11 days, Gauteng recorded 3 950 cases, 834 recoveries and 24 deaths.
“We enjoyed a flattening graph for a long time but over the last few weeks there has been a spike,” Makhura said.
According to National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) testing figures, as of 11 June, Gauteng still contributed the highest percentage (33%) of the total tests conducted – 338 211.
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The presentation by the premier further revealed that Johannesburg was a hotspot with 941 cases in the City of Johannesburg F subdistrict, which consists of the inner city and Johannesburg South.
In addition, City of Johannesburg B, which consists of Randburg, Rosebank, Emmarentia, Greenside, Melville and Mayfair, has 546 confirmed cases.
“The Mayfair, Oriental Plaza area has seen an increased number of informal trading activity in that area. We have put up interventions to interrupt the spread in Johannesburg,” Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku said.
“In Johannesburg, there were three funerals in that area and we link the new infections to that,” he added.
