Covid-19 update: Ramaphosa talks Level 1, Mkhize says cases decreasing

President Ramaphosa will be hard at work determining what the nation's next move will be on Tuesday. Briefly.co.a explores the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa will be locked in engagements with numerous stakeholders on Tuesday as a shift to Level 1 restrictions is contemplated.

This comes as Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize notes an overall decline in both infections and fatalities.

Briefly.co.za explores the latest updates on the pandemic below:

READ ALSO: Covid-19: Zweli Mkhize breathes sigh of relief as new infections fall

1. Ramaphosa expected to meet over Level 1 shift

President Cyril Ramaphosa is a busy man, expected to chair virtual meetings of the President's Coordinating Council and National Economic Development and Labour Council on Tuesday.

It is predicted that the possible shift to Level 1 of the national Covid-19 lockdown will feature prominently in these talks with the Presidency confirming that Deputy President David Mabuza would co-chair the engagements with ministers, premiers and top SA Local Government Association officials.

In a statement released to announce the meetings, the Presidency said that the meeting is set to consider a National Coronavirus Command Council report on the next phase of the government's response to the pandemic.

Commenting on the engagements, the Presidency explained that numerous stakeholders have been focusing on economic recovery in meetings over the pandemic:

"The social partners- government, business, labour, and community-have been meeting over the last few weeks to develop a common approach to rebuilding the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic."

2. Mkhize on latest statistics

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has confirmed the latest Covid-19 statistics as the nation continues its battle against the virus.

In a statement issued by the Health Ministry on Monday evening, Mkhize commented that:

"As of today, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 650 749 with 956 new cases identified."

The minister also reported that a number of new fatalities had been reported, commenting that:

"Regrettably, we report 52 more Covid-19 related deaths: 2 from KwaZulu-Natal, 3 from Gauteng, 4 from Eastern Cape, 7 from Western Cape, 15 from North West and 21 from the Free State. This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 15 499."

Mkhize confirmed that the number of cases reported on a national level continues to decline:

"The number of detected cases countrywide continues to decline- since the 22nd of August we have reported under 3000 cases a day- at the height of the epidemic during the month of July we would report anything between 10 000 and 15 000 cases a day."

A recent NICD analysis found that, from data collected from over 450 public and private hospitals around SA, there has been a decline in ward admissions and both confirmed and excess deaths.

Furthermore, the minister confirmed that the World Health Organisation had also reported a steep drop in the number of cases:

"The WHO surge team has released a situational report on 10 September 2020 reflective of the 37th week of our epidemic, which confirms the decline as reported by NICD. This report showed a 42% decline of detected cases in the preceding two weeks and a 28,9% decline in deaths in the same period."

Currently, in South Africa, less than 10% of hospital beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients:

"The percentage of beds currently occupied by COVID-19 patients nationally is under 10% for non ICU beds and under 30% for ICU beds."

Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that Minister Mkhize had supported the call to shift to Level 1 of the Covid-19 lockdown.

While the risk of a second wave in infections remains high, Mkhize is optimistic after no spike was recorded with the migration to Level 2 regulations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation this week on the path forward amid the pandemic.

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Source: Briefly News