Statement by Brett Herron, Secretary General for GOOD and Member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature
DATA FROM NATIONAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS THE WESTERN CAPE HAS LOWEST RATIO OF CONTACT TRACING IN THE COUNTRY
New data from the National Department of Health has confirmed our initial concerns announced yesterday (https://www.forgood.org.za/statements/2020/5/19/covid-19-what-is-going-wrong-in-the-western-cape).
The new data (attached) confirm:
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The Western Cape and Gauteng have conducted 94799 and 145896 tests respectively.
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The Western Cape and Gauteng have 10639 and 2361 reported cases respectively.
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In Gauteng, which has less than one quarter of the number of cases of the Western Cape, more contacts have been identified (9681 in Gauteng, 9204 in the Western Cape) and more contacts have been traced (9493, or 92%, in Gauteng, but less than 83% – 7614 contacts of the 9204 – in the Western Cape).
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This means that in Gauteng, more than 4 contacts per Covid19 patient are being traced.
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In the Western Cape, less than 1 contact – just 0,7 contacts per Covid19 patient – is being traced.
The extremely low contact tracing rate in the Western Cape is alarming because it means that on average the Western Cape is reaching less than 1 contact for every person tested positive. That is simply not realistic. The lack of sufficient tracing of contacts is very likely to have permitted the pandemic to spread, more rapidly, in the Western Cape than it should have.
This situation must be remedied immediately.
I call upon the MEC for Health, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, to confirm that the Western Cape is sticking to internationally recognised health protocols which require contact tracing to happen quickly and efficiently. I call on the MEC to explain the low contact tracing rate and how she plans to turn this around.
Ends…