Head of Health, Dr Keith Cloete, said that they had devised a strategy that would allow for the rolling out of services with the least amount of coronavirus infection risk.
FILE: A man is screened and tested for COVID-19. Picture: EWN
CAPE TOWN – The Western Cape has recorded more than 100,000 COVID-19 recoveries.
According to the Western Cape government’s latest statistics, the province’s active cases are at just under 3,000 and more than 4,000 COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded.
Provincial health authorities said that the Cape had seen significant reductions in the number of cases, deaths and hospital admissions since the peak was experienced and as a result, its healthcare services had more available capacity to deal with non-COVID-19 cases.
Head of Health, Dr Keith Cloete, said that they had devised a strategy that would allow for the rolling out of services with the least amount of coronavirus infection risk.
These include immunisations and TB treatment.
“Imunisations is one of those services that is so crucial because if we fall back on immunisations and we don’t immunise our children, we are at risk of having outbreaks of such things as measles.”
Cloete said that the lockdown and COVID-19 had had a significant impact on TB testing.
“From March and all the way through April and into June there was a significant reduction in how many TB cases were conducted, so you can also imagine that those same labs were at the same time overrun by COVID-19 cases, so the lab now has capacity.”
