Western Cape to be commended

For two months now, we have become accustomed to waiting for the latest COVID-19 figures to be released every evening by the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

While many observers might be alarmed at the number of infections in the Western Cape (WC) compared to the rest of South Africa, this is actually positive news.

As of 17 May 2020, the WC had conducted 90 750 tests or 20% of the total number of tests that have been done nationwide. Simply put, since the WC comprises 10 – 11% of the total population, this means that the province is testing at twice the rate as the rest of the country.

Between 13 500 and 15 600 people per million population have been tested, a figure that will improve every day if the province maintains its average of 12 000 tests per week.

This puts the WC on a par with South Korea (14 693), a country that has been globally praised for its testing response, and approaching the Netherlands (16 809) and Sweden (17 589).

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 6)