The DA in the Western Cape notes with disappointment the irresponsible and negligent comments made by the national Health Department on social media. The reckless infographics contribute to an unsettling narrative in the public domain.
MPP Wendy Philander said: “The remarks by the National Department of Health is a political strategy to shift attention away from rising numbers in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, which is set to overtake the Western Cape as the next epicentre.
But more importantly, such reckless misinformation demoralises all the efforts made by our frontline workers in the health and social sector by suggesting that their response to Covid-19 has been suboptimal and ineffective. These utterance are untrue and disappointing.”
In the national Department’s communication, rising numbers of infections in the Eastern Cape are blamed on its proximity to the Western Cape. This is misleading, as the two provinces held joint operations for all interprovincial transport. Furthermore, the Eastern Cape Heath Department is ill-equipped to manage Covid-19 considering its unpaid bills of close to R3-billion and ongoing mismanagement.
The national Department further blames the Western Cape for a “hospicentric” strategy and “suboptimal” quarantine and isolation programmes. However, the reality is that our provincial Health Department has conducted extensive community testing and screening in Covid-19 hotspots. Public quarantine and isolation facilities are available for those who cannot self-isolate. We have 43, 120 recoveries in the province, an extensive awareness campaign of over 10,000 posters and radio broadcasts in all three official languages. This is the biggest awareness campaign in the province’s known history.
The Western Cape Government has already built Africa’s largest field hospital at the CTICC. Tomorrow, the Premier will provide an update on the new Brakengate Field hospital which will provide 300 additional beds, as we approach the peak in the province.
Along with an extensive community screening process, the WCG has stepped up its contact tracing and testing strategy to accommodate the backlog by the NHLS to best manage the spread of the pandemic in the province.
MPP Philander Comments: “In crisis management there is no space for scoring political points. The comments from the national Health Department instead have the potential to add a negative stigma around Covid-19 instead of guiding residents in the right direction. The only way we can fight the pandemic is by responding better together.
I wish to thank every frontline worker for their relentless efforts in taking up the fight against Covid-19 and reassure them and our residents of the DA-led Western Cape Government’s commitment to holistically responding to the crisis as it requires.”
The DA in the Western Cape remains committed in its oversight role to ensure that readiness strategies in management of the Covid-19 by provincial departments remain aligned in healthcare needs of the people in our province and will not allow political agendas to derail Covid-19 responses.
