The South African government will be looking to parts of its Covid-19 Resurgence Action Plan when mitigating the risk of further increases in Covid-19 positive cases from cluster outbreaks in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said the plan included heightened surveillance in areas with cluster outbreaks, with a further approach to deal with such cases at a district and sub-district level. It also calls for the scaling up of resources in affected areas for Covid-19 testing and contact tracing as well as for quarantine and isolation facilities.

“When we look at a resurgence we are looking at a 20% increase in the average incidences of positive Covid-19 cases. We would also like to try and define it as close as possible by the geographic location whether it is a ward, a district or a province. Parts of both the Eastern Cape and Western Cape are currently experiencing a notable spike in the number of positive Covid-19 cases, in some instances due to ‘super-spreader’ events such as college parties,” he said.

The Minister is expected to visit the Eastern Cape later this week to assess the province’s readiness should a further surge in cases occur.

“The numbers started rising when we were in Level 4 (of the national lockdown), but even more when we were in Level 3; that’s when we experienced the surge from June to July. We did indicate that our predictions were that we were going to have a surge, but with lower numbers,” Mkhize said.

South Africa was once ranked fifth globally for its cumulative number of Covid-19 cases, but has now dropped to the fifteenth spot.

“It’s important for us to keep a note that this pandemic is a very dynamic situation that keeps changing in different countries…It is important to adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions (wearing masks, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, and practicing social distancing). We need sustained behavioural change,” he urged.