Coronavirus by Premier Alan Winde

WESTERN CAPE NEWS - As of 13:00 on 29 August, the Western Cape has 4080 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 104 862 confirmed cases and 96 921 recoveries.

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 11 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 3861.

We send our condolences to their family and friends at this time.

Total confirmed Covid-19 cases - 104 862
Total recoveries - 96 921
Total deaths - 3 861
Total active cases (currently infected patients) - 4 080
Tests conducted - 480 223
Hospitalisations - 815 with 172 in ICU or high care

Garden Route district

Bitou - 576 cases, 526 recoveries
Knysna - 1 356 cases, 1 251 recoveries
George - 3 304 cases, 3 009 recoveries
Hessequa - 286 cases, 247 recoveries
Kannaland - 109 cases, 105 recoveries
Mossel Bay - 2 138 cases, 1 909 recoveries
Oudtshoorn - 1 158 cases, 828 recoveries

Data note
It is not always possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new recorded case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.

More data is available on the dashboard here.

Recoveries and active cases
Over 92% of the people recorded to have contracted COVID-19 in the Western Cape have recovered from their illness. Since the first official case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the Western Cape in March,nearly 100 000 people have been able to recover. Many of these recoveries would have been done at home, without any need for medical intervention.

Others have recovered in one of our healthcare facilities and we have seen and heard amazing stories of recovery. At the now decommissioned Hospital of Hope at the CTICC, a 104 year old patient was discharged. And in the past week, we heard the inspiring story of Catherine Qonyiweyo, who was discharged from Groote Schuur Hospital after having been treated with high flow nasal oxygen for 40 days. These cases and all of the other amazing stories of recovery we have seen over the past few months are testament to the strength of the patients, the hard work and commitment of our healthcare workers and the support and love of their family and friends. But these stories are also a reminder to us all that COVID-19 can be a serious illness and we need to continue to take it seriously.

Just under 4% of all our cases in the Western Cape are currently active. While we are happy that we continue to see declining case numbers, and hospitalisations, we continue to focus on ensuring that we stop the spread of COVID-19. The Western Cape Government is still running its hotspot programme. These interventions have not only been focused on reducing infections, but on changing behaviour so that we are able to fight COVID-19 in the long term. Mask-wearing, regular hand-washing, hygiene and social distancing are the new normal and must be part of all of our daily lives to ensure that we are not only able to save lives but to open up our economy fully and prevent the second pandemic of unemployment.