The total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the North West Province as of Tuesday, 02 June 2020 is 271, an increase of 84 from previously reported cases. This is the highest daily increase of confirmed cases ever recorded in the Province. There are 59 recoveries and one death.

A total of 74 confirmed cases which were reported yesterday were previously allocated to Gauteng and have since been reallocated to the Province after data harmonization and verification of addresses. Majority of these cases are mine related in Rustenburg.

The increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in mines is a concern to the Department, MEC Madoda Sambatha said. MEC Sambatha is visiting mining houses in the Province to assess level of compliance with lockdown regulations.

“The mines have become hotspots for coronavirus in the Province and more effort is needed to curb the disease from spreading to mining communities.

“Miners should be screened before they could start work and those who come from hotspot provinces like Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape should be screened and tested before they could start work,” he said.

Sambatha added that mine workers who test positive and their contacts should be isolated at a quarantined site approved by Government. Mines that were lagging behind in terms of compliance and case management were ordered to work with district health chief directors to ensure compliance.

The breakdown of cases is as follows:

DATA HARMONIZATION

Allocation and verification of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the North West Province is an ongoing process. The Department of Health will continuously allocate cases after verification to a specific and appropriate location within a particular municipality.

Issued by: Northern Cape Health