Western Cape set to overtake Gauteng as coronavirus capital, as testing ramps up
Head of the Western Cape’s Health Department, Dr Keith Cloete, believes that the number of coronavirus cases in the province are set to overtake those seen in Gauteng as testing ramps up in the coming days.
As of Wednesday (22 April), the Western Cape has reported province recorded 1,079 confirmed cases and 22 deaths.
Speaking in an interview with CapeTalk, Cloete said that provincial health authorities are expecting the number of Covid-19 cases to increase significantly as officials ramp up active testing and contact tracing.
As a result, the province is likely to overtake Gauteng – the current epicentre – in the number of cases it reports over the next few days, he said.
“We are expecting that our cases will rise and in all likelihood, in the next two or three days, we will overtake Gauteng.,” said Cloete. “We are also expecting the number of deaths to tie, and we will probably be the number one province in terms of deaths very soon.”
The table below shows the total number of coronavirus cases per province as of Wednesday (22 April).
New testing kits
Cloete said that his department also hopes to receive new GeneXpert tests which will allow for rapid-testing within the next 10 days.
The big advantage of these tests is that instead of taking 24 hours, patients can get results within 60 – 90 minutes, he said.
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has previously confirmed that these tests will be delivered countrywide before the end of April.
“The advantage, according to the supplier, is that tests can be processed in 45 minutes, and the smaller machines can be placed in mobile vehicles, which makes it ideal for community testing,” said NHLS chief executive officer, Dr Kamy Chetty.
“It’s a pity that this new test kit was not available sooner, as it would have made a huge difference to how testing gets done. We are nevertheless pleased that it will be ready shortly,” Chetty said.
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