18 May 2021

Kanye Administrative Authority (KAA) sub-council chairperson, Mr Simon Ramaphoi, has expressed concern over the escalating COVID-19 cases in the sub-district, particularly in schools.

He said during the last quarter, a total of 2 528 cases were recorded and 459 of those were from schools. 

He noted that from the 13 people who died from COVID-19 complications, one was a teacher at Selokolela Primary School.

“A total of 459 positive cases were recorded in schools, 371 were learners, 43 teachers and 45 support staff.  The trend from the numbers recorded depicts that most of the cases were from secondary schools,” he said.

Mr Ramaphoi further noted that unavailability of a COVID-19 isolation centre in the sub-district posed a challenge since most patients had to be isolated at home. 

However, he noted that there had been an improvement in management of the pandemic since COVID-19 services were decentralised in February.

“Subsequent to increased challenges in the management of COVID-19 in the sub-district as discussed in our previous council sessions, decentralisation of COVID-19 activities to all clinics was adopted.  Since the implementation of this strategy, improvements were noted in management of the pandemic across the sub-district.  Home isolated patients are now adequately monitored and tracing of contacts is done within 24 hours satisfactorily, which is a notable progress,” he said.

Furthermore, the sub-council chairperson said he was concerned with non-compliance to COVID-19 regulations. 

He said as at April, a total of 97 cases of failure to wear a face were recorded, while eight were for non-adherence to permissible number to attend social events such as weddings, funerals and churches. 

He also said unlawful gatherings, which were prevalent in the area were likely to thwart government’s efforts to manage the pandemic. 

Mr Ramaphoi said he was optimistic that vaccination programme, which commenced last month would go a long way in fighting the spread of COVID-19.

He said as of May 17, 1 555 people had been vaccinated in the district, which included frontline workers such as health workers and the police. 

“A total of 1 555 people have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19 in our sub-district, 961 females and 594 males. Out of the total number,58 were police staff,40 were health workers while the remaining 1 457 were 75 years plus adults from our local communities. I anticipate that the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine will come in handy in the fight against the pandemic in our sub-district,” he said. ENDS