WESTERN CAPE NEWS - The Western Cape has recorded one additional death - a 48-year-old male - bringing the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the province to 17.
As of 17:00 on 19 April, the Western Cape has recorded 905 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection.
The Garden Route municipal district has 60 recorded cases.
The breakdown of the cases is as follows:
*Unallocated: 10
Health Minister Nomafrench Mbombo said with many not able to work and earn a salary right now, the need for humanitarian and food relief is urgent.
"Over the weekend, I was part of the President’s Coordinating Council where the need for food relief was discussed as a matter of deep concern. We welcome President Ramaphosa’s commitment in his newsletter today that national government will scale up welfare provision to help households living below the poverty line."
The Western Cape available data is currently used to map where the greatest need exists, and to ensure that relief efforts from all spheres of government and the NGO and private sector do not overlap.
"As part of these mapping efforts, we have determined that municipalities in the Western Cape have so far spent R7 million on feeding schemes and food parcels during the lockdown. Many municipalities are however unable to afford this in the long run. The Western Cape Government is currently working on proposals in order to further support feeding schemes at a municipal level," said Mbombo.
"The Western Cape Government has started the roll-out of the 50 000 food parcels which we have undertaken to fund and distribute. We continue to receive thousands of requests daily for food relief. We have doubled our call centre capacity in order to deal with the increased call volumes, however we understand that there is still a backlog and we are working 24/7 to ensure we onboard additional trained call centre agents.
"Members of the public should please carefully read the qualifying criteria and details around the vetting process before filling in the form. Our food relief parcels are intended for those most in need, they are limited in number, and they will only be dispensed once a social worker has approved the application."
The qualifying criteria for relief are:
Households affected by COVID-19 infections in the following instances:
- A member/s of the family tested positive for the virus and they are in quarantine in their homes.
- A household where a member of the family tested positive for the virus and where they have insufficient means to sustain themselves during the lockdown period.
- A person who is on medication or who suffers from a chronic illness and has insufficient means to sustain themselves and was assessed and referred by a local clinic or registered health practitioner.
- A person and their household who have insufficient means to sustain themselves during the lockdown period who was referred by a registered humanitarian relief agency, registered NPO or a municipal manager, and assessed by DSD. In this instance, persons not yet in receipt of SASSA grants, including the elderly, child headed houses, grant awaiting beneficiaries will be prioritised.
Schools
Emergency feeding has continued at schools in the province. These meals have allowed the province to meet some of the nutritional needs of thousands of the youngest citizens at a time when they are most in need of it, said Mbombo.
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