Staff Reporter
The Free State has seen 74 patients fully recovering from COVID-19, although the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the province has now risen to 102, according to the latest statistics released this Sunday night.
“The department is delighted about the number of patients that are recovering from COVID-19,” provincial health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said in statement.
“There is no cure yet for COVID-19, but we have seen 74 patients fully recovering and being released from health facilities to be with their families.
“We are monitoring these patients regularly through our health professionals to ensure that they do not find themselves being re-infected.”
Mangaung remains the epicentre of the coronavirus disease in the Free State, accounting for 89 of the confirmed cases in the province, followed by Thabo Mofutsanyana with eight and Fezile Dabi with three.
The Lejweleputswa and Xhariep regions have one case each.
“Our teams are diligently following the 28 cases that are still COVID-19-positive,” Mvambi said.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that they will all be brought to full recovery. There are five patients that are still admitted at Pelonomi Hospital, whilst 23 are self-isolated.”
The province has intensified its efforts to curb the spread of the deadly virus by embarking on a mass screening exercise that includes door-to-door assessments.
“Screening and testing are also very important elements of the efforts of our health workers in the fight against COVID-19,” Mvambi said.
“As the door-to-door mass screening is being rolled out to all of the five regions of the province, the department has managed to screen a total of 241 629 with 1 460 people being tested.
“This process has targeted all the hotspots of the province as directed by the efforts of the tracer teams and the digital mapping exercise that was done in collaboration with cellphone companies.”
To date, the Free State’s screening and testing breakdown is as follows:
- Mangaung – 54 304 screened and 707 tested
- Fezile Dabi – 76 271 screened and 74 tested
- Lejweleputswa – 20 144 screened and 136 tested
- Thabo Mofutsanyana – 68 338 screened and 139 tested
- Xhariep – 22 572 screened and 129 tested
The Free State MEC for Health, Montseng Tsiu, has hailed the frontline workers and volunteers for their efforts in combating the deadly COVID-19.
“This is war and we are determined to fight and win it,” Tsiu said.
“Our delight is derived from the levels of dedication that we see from multi-disciplinary health professionals, allied health workers, support staff and partners that we have assembled in our command operation centres in the province, districts and in mass screening sites and door-to-door work.
“These dedicated public servants are in the frontline of the war against COVID-19.
“They have dedicated their time and are sparing no effort. They spend most of their time working on the different elements of this enormous task at hand.
“We can’t thank them enough for the love they are displaying towards their fellow humans. We pray that their effort will soon yield results of a COVID-19-free Free State.”
The Free State – which has 102 confirmed coronavirus cases – has to date registered five deaths related to the disease, all of them males aged between 55 and 85 years of age.
South Africa’s COVID-19 cases have increased to 3 158, with the death toll now standing at 54.