The COVID-19 is claiming an average of 70 lives a day in South Africa and Gauteng currently has the worst infection rate in the country.
Gauteng could also overtake the Western Cape in total cases.
Wits University health economist Professor Alex van den Heever told the Sunday Times that Gauteng will reach the Western Cape’s daily death figures – which for the past fortnight have averaged 50 a day – “within 10 days.”
Gauteng’s hotspots are the inner city and southern areas of Johannesburg, followed by Soweto, Protea Glen and Doornkop, according to the provincial command council.
As of yesterday, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 131 800, with 7 210 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours. Regrettably, a further 73 COVID-19 related deaths- 3 from KwaZulu Natal, 13 from Eastern Cape, 17 from Gauteng Province and 40 from Western Cape. This brings the total number of deaths to 2 413.
The mortality rate is 1,8% and the number of recoveries is 67 094 which translates to a recovery rate of 50,9%.
Modelling data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) shows that the number of COVID-19-related deaths in Gauteng could triple every two weeks.
Gauteng has 34,285 confirmed cases according to the latest data, as well as a total of 166 deaths.
Hospitals and medical staff are at full stretch and makeshift mortuaries are being prepared. But even with the extra capacity, two questions are occupying experts’ minds: how bad will it get, and are we ready?
Amid the rising death toll, millions of children are preparing for the second phase of school reopening next week, and the opening of the economy is picking up pace, with the release of rules for sit-down restaurants.
For more read: Gauteng in the eye of Covid-19 storm as death bell tolls for SA
