UPDATE: Steady increase in COVID19 recoveries across Old Age Homes

The Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, welcomes the steady increase in COVID-19 recoveries across old age homes in the Western Cape.

As of 1 February 2021, the number of residents in old age homes, who have recovered from Covid-19 has increased to 2284. The current figures show an increase of 199 recoveries, and a decrease in the number of active infections from 156  to 101, since the Department of Social Development last provided an update on 20 January 2021.

“We are encouraged by the improvement we have witnessed over the last two weeks. Whilst the number of recoveries is encouraging, the Department will continue to monitor strict health and safety protocols weekly.

The recent decision made by National government to relax the Alert Level 3 Restrictions, is not the time for us to let our guard down. It is crucial that we all play our part to keep ourselves and loved ones safe as the virus remains with us.

If we continue to work together, we can continue to mitigate the effects of this virus,” said Minister Fernandez.

“I wish to thank all our NPO partners, carers, staff and officials for their ongoing commitment and devotion in helping us manage the spread of the virus at all old age homes. We are grateful and appreciative of all your efforts during these challenging times,” added Minister Fernandez.

The provincial Department of Social Development (DSD)’s role as stipulated in the Older Persons Act, is to register residential facilities and to monitor adherence to norms and standards of care within facilities.

While DSD subsidises older persons within these respective facilities, all old age homes are owned and managed independently.

In the Western Cape, there is a total of 300 old age homes of which, 117 are funded by the provincial DSD.      

“I would like to encourage the public to frequently wash their hands, and to wear your masks correctly each time you leave home. It is also crucial to clean all surfaces around you - whether it be at home or work. Let’s do everything we can to ensure that we stop the further spread of the virus and protect those who are older and live with high-risk comorbidities. By doing this we can get our province moving forward again,” concluded Minister Fernandez. 

We urge the public to access credible information on https://www.westerncape.gov.za/department-of-health/coronavirus.

For more information about our other services, please refer to the Western Cape Department’s Website below:

https://www.westerncape.gov.za/dept/social-development