Western Cape Premier Alan Winde wants the province to be moved to Alert Level 1 of lockdown restrictions.

Winde has previously advocated that provinces be able to set their own lockdown restrictions – a move away from national restrictions to a more regional approach.

Currently, the 7-day moving average for new cases in the Western Cape is 620.

We know that we will have officially exited the third wave, in terms of the technical definition, once new infections are at 15% of the peak or 530 cases. We are quickly approaching this number. All our other indicators also continue to show a significant decline, including in hospitalisations, deaths, our test positivity rate and oxygen usage. Alan Winde.

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In stating his case for an easing of lockdown restrictions, Winde presented regional data to support his request:

• Case numbers continue to decrease, with around 620 new diagnoses daily. This is compared to 3543 at its highest point on 17 August 2021.
• The proportion of positive COVID-19 tests has also decreased to 10%. This is compared to 42% at its highest point on 26 July 2021.
• Admissions and deaths continue to decrease, with an average of 120 new admissions and around 35 deaths each day. This is down from 362 new admissions and around 122 deaths at its highest point on 1 August and 30 July 2021 respectively.
• There has been a consistent decline in excess deaths both in the Cape Metro and across the province.
• The Western Cape’s total oxygen consumption is approximately 57 tonnes a day. This is compared to 78.7 tonnes or 104.9% at its highest point on 19 August 2021.
• COVID-19 and Persons Under Investigation (PUI) patients currently make up only 13% of total admissions at our public sector hospitals.

The Western Cape economy is reliant on domestic and international tourism and wants to have the economy opened before the start of the summer season.