Western Cape to announce COVID-19 resurgence plans on Thursday

With the Western Cape and Cape Town Metro facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the province will announce its new plans at a briefing on Thursday, 3 November.

This is according to Western Cape Premier Alan Winde’s 30 November update on the pandemic.

The Western Cape currently has over 10 000 active cases of COVID-19.

As a result of the resurgence, reports have said that the local government is considering regional or “mini” lockdowns.

Winde says that local government has not yet decided whether it will implement these types of lockdowns.

“At this stage, no decision has been taken yet on localised restrictions, and we are still seeking legal advice on what is possible given that disaster restrictions are imposed by National Government, and not by provinces,” Winde said in his update.

However, the new plan of action will be announced at a press conference on Thursday.

“We will communicate our plan of action at this week’s Digital Press Conference, held on Thursday,” Winde said.

Will Cape Town see another COVID-19 lockdown?

Politicians continue to weigh the potential economic and health impact of a lockdown. This makes it unclear whether the regional restrictions will arrive.

“I must reiterate that the main priority right now is to prevent a lockdown, that would devastate our economy,” Winde said.

The Western Cape government continues to ask members of the public to try to curb the resurgence.

“The best and quickest way to do this is through individuals, businesses, and civil society playing their part by changing their behaviour,” Winde added.

However, in October, Cape Town’s health department noted growing apathy towards precautions.

Currently, 1104 COVID-19 patients are in hospital in the Western Cape. Meanwhile, 190 of these patients are in ICU or high care.

You will be able to tune in to the digital press conference on Premier Alan Winde’s official Facebook page.

Feature image: Screenshot

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