Coronavirus - South Africa: Premier Alan Winde update on Coronavirus COVID-19 on 27 October

Cape Metro Sub-districts:

Sub-district Cases Recoveries Western 10569 9720 Southern 10404 9557 Northern 7141 6698 Tygerberg 13909 13144 Eastern 10778 10071 Klipfontein 9564 8842 Mitchells Plain 9147 8597 Khayelitsha 8467 8000 Total 79979 74629

Sub-districts:

District Sub-district Cases Recoveries Garden Route Bitou 679 648 Garden Route Knysna 1630 1540 Garden Route George 3871 3559 Garden Route Hessequa 355 325 Garden Route Kannaland 145 136 Garden Route Mossel Bay 2544 2422 Garden Route Oudsthoorn 1597 1441 Cape Winelands Stellenbosch 2202 2068 Cape Winelands Drakenstein 4567 4293 Cape Winelands Breede Valley 3530 3377 Cape Winelands Langeberg 1197 1135 Cape Winelands Witzenberg 1668 1568 Overberg Overstrand 1720 1628 Overberg Cape Agulhas 330 291 Overberg Swellendam 361 343 Overberg Theewaterskloof 1240 1159 West Coast Bergrivier 508 465 West Coast Cederberg 176 166 West Coast Matzikama 697 589 West Coast Saldanha Bay Municipality 1499 1392 West Coast Swartland 1709 1592 Central Karoo Beaufort West 843 768 Central Karoo Laingsburg 142 133 Central Karoo Prince Albert 34 33

Unallocated: 2045(1987 recovered)

Data note:It is not always possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new recorded case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 11 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 4331.We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Changing our behaviour will keep us moving forward:

There has been a lot of speculation and some fake news circulating indicating that the President will address the nation this week and announce a second lockdown in light of increasing case numbers in the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa indicated that this was not true. Additionally, each of his prior addresses have been preceded by a meeting of the President's Coordinating Council. This meeting is attended by the Premiers of all nine provinces, and I have not, at this stage, received any communication that a PCC meeting has been scheduled.

I therefore urge residents not to circulate messages that do not come from an official source, and that have not been verified.

A second lockdown would devastate our economy, which has already been heavily impacted by COVID-19, the hard lockdown and subsequent alert levels. A second lockdown will result in more jobs lost, more people going hungry and a deepening humanitarian crisis.

However, I do want to make crystal clear that the best defense we have from a major spike in cases that would force additional restrictions to slow the spread, is our own behaviour.

The power to prevent that lies in each and every one of our hands right now.

We have also seen how other countries in the world have experienced, and continue to experience second waves of this virus, which are now resulting in second lockdowns.

Across South Africa, we have seen new case numbers start to rise as people become tired or complacent. We have the opportunity now, and the gift of foresight provided by the experiences elsewhere in the world, to take the steps necessary to ensure that we slow the spread of the virus.

The Western Cape Government has the systems in place that allow us to track infections and zoom in where "bushfires" occur. In recent weeks, we have seen an increase in the number of young people contracting COVID-19, as well as an increase in the test positivity rate in the private sector.

Young people are likely to experience mild symptoms-if any, and to recover without complications but they could also infect someone who is at risk of serious illness or death.

I therefore appeal to everyone to understand the seriousness of this situation and to take the appropriate steps to protect yourself.

Wearing your mask, keeping a distance, and regularly washing your hands are simple behaviours that can help us beat this virus.

I also appeal to all businesses to evaluate their safety protocols to see whether there may be gaps, or room for improvement, and to ensure that they are fully compliant with the regulations in place.

Taking additional steps to prevent infections now, will help residents, businesses and our economy in the long run.

Now is the time for us all to be taking responsibility so that we can beat COVID-19, and ensure that we are able to move forward, and start rebuilding this province and this country.

Issued by: Western Cape Office of the Premier

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.