CAPE TOWN - The number of new coronavirus cases in KwaZulu-Natal is declining.
At 120 295 the province has the second highest number of confirmed cases, behind Gauteng. KZN also accounts for 17 percent
of the Covid-19 deaths countrywide.
KZN Premier, Sihle Zikalala said although the province continues to be the second highest province in terms of laboratory-confirmed cases, they have observed a decline in the number of new cases in the past three weeks.
“The actual number of Covid-19 cases for week 39 was 980; for week 40 it was 875; and for week 41 it was 682. The number of new cases declined by 11 percent between week 39-40.
A further 22 percent decrease was observed between weeks 40-41. This also coincides with the weekly cumulative incidence risk. We are indeed pleased to report that the Province is observing a steady decline in incidence risk,” he said.
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On 10 October 2020, the province had 477 patients admitted in both private and public hospitals. Of those admitted, 73 patients required intensive care services. Private hospitals had more patients in ICU at 68 than public facilities who have only five. Among those who required intensive care, 22 were ventilated. While 56 other patients were admitted in high care units in both private and public facilities.
Meanwhile, a research study titled: "The Covid-19 Impact on Municipalities: The case of KwaZulu-Natal Municipalities", found that some municipalities in the province had bloated staff complements and were unprepared for the pandemic, leaving them unable to deal with the challenge.
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“This research has therefore revealed that municipalities were not ready for the pandemic and some of them were not resilient enough to deal with this unprecedented challenge or disaster. There is therefore a need to improve municipal readiness even through training programmes so that they are able to deal with disasters better in future,” said the study, published online by Sryahwa Publications in the Journal for Public Administration.
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