Western Cape old age homes record decline in COVID-19 infections

According to the Department of Social Development (DSD) in the Western Cape, 1 430 pensioners in old age homes recovered from COVID-19, while 100 were reported as still being infected as of 31 August.

The department has recorded an increase in COVID-19 recoveries and a decline in the number of infections across old age homes in the province. This comes after the Western Cape was known as the COVID-19 epicentre. Old age homes were also rife with infections at the time. 

As of Wednesday 2 September, there are 106 353 infections in the Western Cape, 3 929 deaths and 98 047 recoveries. There are 4 377 active cases.

INCREASE IN RECOVERIES AT OLD AGE HOMES 

Shadow Minister of the DSD for the Western Cape Sharna Fernandez thanked all the elderly people who are currently residing at the funded and unfunded facilities and their families for the role that they have played in preventing the further spread of the virus.

“I am cognisant of the challenges this pandemic has posed for all those people who live and work at old age homes. One particular challenge is that many older persons have not been able to visit or have family members visit them for months,” she said.

There are 300 nursing homes, 117 of which are funded by the provincial DSD. According to the department, 1 430 pensioners recovered from COVID-19, while 100 were still infected by the virus as of 31 August.

“This shows an increase of 72 recoveries and a decrease of eight infections compared to last week,” the department said.

The province’s oldest resident, who currently lives at the Kensington Old Age Home Dinah Fourie, 102, beat COVID-19 and has fully recovered.

ADDITIONAL R1.7 MILLION MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PANDEMIC

For the 2020/2021 financial year, R250 million has been budgeted towards services for older persons. Over and above this support, the department has also reprioritised funding to ensure that various services and facilities (both funded and unfunded) are equipped with the necessary resources, to prevent further spread of the COVID-19.

Over and above this, an additional R 1.7 million has been made available for old age homes for the management of the pandemic. 

The department has also distributed 150 000 masks, 5 000 shield masks, 10 000 bars of soap and 18 000 all-purpose cleaner bottles and 50 litres of sanitisers per home in the Western Cape. 

Additional relief staff are provided where and when needed, there is specialised training for carers and the department has facilitated the deployment of volunteers to deep-clean old age homes, with a focus on homes in vulnerable communities and hotspot areas.