COVID-19 Gauteng map hot-spots

Photo: Gauteng Government

COVID-19: New maps expose Gauteng’s worst hot-spots [photo]

You can read the data in black and white, but looking at the COVID-19 hot-spots of Gauteng on these maps really rams home the severity of the situation.

COVID-19 Gauteng map hot-spots

Photo: Gauteng Government

There’s no sugarcoating things at this stage. Gauteng is in trouble. Premier David Makhura has suggested that the province will look to return to a harder form of lockdown in the immediate future, as GP becomes the site of the most active COVID-19 cases in South Africa. A total of 244 people have died, and over 40 000 people have been infected as more hot-spots continue to spring-up.

Coronavirus cases in Gauteng

The grim reality of the situation was laid bare on Thursday afternoon. Makhura warned locals that they are now ‘in the eye of the storm’, as cases continue to surge in the north-east. He warned that the provincial government was ‘worried’ about what lies ahead, suggesting the peak of infections may only come in September.

Prof. Bruce Mellado of Wits University was also in attendance, and he brought some very stark data to proceedings. Numbers for General ward, hospitalised and high care patients have all soared since the beginning of June – and there are hot-spots cropping up all over Gauteng.

Map for the COVID-19 hot-spots in Gauteng

Mellado’s map shows the worst-affected areas within the province. Johannesburg is the only red-spot to mention, indicating the severity of the situation in this metro. Soweto, Boksburg, and Tembisa are also experiencing some concerning spikes. Meanwhile, outliers like Carletonville and Pretoria are battling to contain the virus:

The data shows a high concentration of infections across central Johannesburg, spreading out towards Sandton and Krugersdorp. Several notable outbreaks have also hit Tshwane over the past few weeks – Photo: Gauteng Government.

COVID-19: Johannesburg’s worst-hit suburbs

The model, created by Mellado and his team at Wits, also looks at cluster outbreaks within Johannesburg. Most parts of the city have experienced hyper-local transmissions, particularly in the southern suburbs. These are truly terrifying visuals, which no doubt strengthen Makhura’s calls for tighter lockdown restrictions.

There are infection clusters all across Johannesburg, dotted around some of the busiest locations in the city – Photo: Gauteng Government.