After a sustained 18 months of "unusual work" amid the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare staff in the Western Cape will finally get some downtime as the provincial health department encourages them to "rest and reset".

Following the end of the third wave earlier this week, department head Dr Keith Cloete said staff fatigue was inevitable.

"Healthcare workers have carried us through three successive waves," he said.

"We really, really owe a massive debt of gratitude to [them] - they really excelled and delivered sterling work."

Calling it a "healing journey", he said a programme would start on 1 October aimed at allowing staff to recuperate while celebrating and showing gratitude to their frontline workers.

"We want to kick in the leave provisions. We want to encourage people to rest and reset," Cloete said, adding that each staff member would also receive two days of "gratitude leave" for their contribution in the fight against the pandemic.

Infections

Cumulatively, 12 518 healthcare workers had been infected since the outbreak of the pandemic - 1 256 doctors, 5 449 nurses, 151 radiographers, 141 pharmacists, and 5 521 healthcare workers in other positions.

While 12 230 recovered, 187 succumbed to the disease.

As of Wednesday, there were 101 active cases among staff.

Premier Alan Winde encouraged the public to show their gratitude to healthcare workers by "continuing to practise the lifesaving behaviours that we have learnt throughout the pandemic".

"I want to whole-heartedly thank each and every single healthcare worker who has seen us through the third wave. Thank you for your compassion, your dedication and your selfless commitment to caring for those most in need. We are truly indebted to you."

He said cases continued to decline after the Western Cape was earlier this week confirmed to have officially exited the peak of the third wave.

"According to the technical definition, leaving the third wave requires that new infections are 15% of the peak, or 530 cases a day on average. Our current daily infections are lower than this and now stands at 350 a day," he said.

"Overall, there is a 47% week-on-week decrease in cases in the Metro. All sub-districts continue to see substantial decreases in case numbers. There is a similar decrease in case numbers across the rural districts."

Across the Western Cape, the proportion of positive tests have decreased to 9.2%, Winde confirmed, while admissions and deaths continue to decline and are at an average of 80 new admissions and around 25 deaths per day.