Health

1. (a)(b) See attached
2. See attached
3. (a) Our hotspot intervention strategy focusses our combined efforts in these targeted areas with the focus to protect vulnerable people who are at high risk, and to prevent deaths.

The Whole of Government approach comprises of six responses. The details of each response are as follows:

Health response

Details of our Health Response is as follows:

• Screen a defined population in a clearly demarcated area in specific hotspot areas for Covid-19.
• Test those who screen positive, selectively, based on limited testing capacity, focusing on protecting the vulnerable.
• Contact trace those who have been in contact with positive cases.
• Quarantine/isolate positive cases either at home or in group isolation facilities, where home circumstances do not allow for it.
• Introduce effective surveillance systems in places of gathering, such as workplaces, schools, old age homes and transport hubs.
• Work with DSD to reintegrate recovered individuals into their communities.
• Educate communities about social distancing, hand washing, cough etiquette and wearing of masks.
   Economic response:
• Details of our Economic Response is as follows:
• Contact and engagement with the business sector is already taking place as per the framework for preventing and managing Covid-19 in the workplace
• Guidelines for the prevention of the spread of the virus in the workplace have been completed and published
• Commitment from businesses to implement guidelines and to have specific workplace guidelines and processes in place
• Businesses are concerned about community transmission occurring outside the workplace and some have implemented screening, temperature measurement before entry to workplace
• Engagement with and support from Department of Health, Department of Labour, City Environmental Health and DEDAT to establish a referral system for inspection and potential closure of businesses have been agreed upon.
• The economic hotspots are largely Retail Stores, Factories and Shopping Malls
• There is a need to have social distancing markings both within the shopping mall precincts as well as the streets leading to the entrances of those malls, especially when SASSA payments are being made
• We have developed specific guidelines for spaza shops and informal businesses
• We have significant support and engagement with retailers and shopping mall owners to ensure that the guidelines are implemented

      Safety response:

• Details of our safety response are as follows:
• Alignment of limited safety resources with the hotspot areas via sharing of detailed maps
• Working with SAPS and SANDF and integrated planning on daily deployments
• Identify areas in which people congregate and put measures in place to improve on compliance and social distancing.
• Mobilize additional safety resources to assist with this process, including Neighbourhood Watches.
• Improved protection of law enforcement members against infections.

      Human Settlements response:

• Details of our Human Settlements Response are as follows:
• Completion of current human settlement projects: construction industry has resumed for human settlements projects under lockdown level 4 regulations. This enables the completion of existing projects to create new serviced sites and top structures.
• In-situ-upgrading and re-blocking of settlements: lists of informal settlements for Phase 1 (0-3mnths) & Phase 2 (0-6mnths) have been submitted to NDHS for upgrading of informal settlements
• Sanitizing and cleaning of common areas: maintenance plan developed for cleaning of shared toilets and other communal areas in informal settlements.
• Communications, behaviour change, education and information: information sharing through civil based organisations to promote food security, secure economic and social networks, provision and correct use of PPE and social distancing.
• Data sharing for evidence-based decision-making
• Supply and installation of water tanks in high density areas
   Transport and Public Works response
• Details of our Transport and Public Works Response are as follows:
• Ensure unnecessary movement of people is limited
• Deploying technology to track vehicular movement, including:
• deploying automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras at access points to area, track across camera network and determine trends to support enforcement
• Develop a database of vehicles permitted in area e.g. health, law enforcement, delivery vehicles, public transport.
• Investigate the implementation of contracted public transport to reduce the number of passengers in minibus taxis to 50%
• Communication to people to fetch food parcels on specific dates to limit the number of people congregating in areas
• The readying of quarantine and isolation facilities
• The deployment of contracted transport to take residents to quarantine and isolation facilities, who are unable to quarantine or isolate at home
• Finalisation and readying of the temporary hospital facilities, including the CTICC.
   Environmental and Developmental planning response:
• Details of our Environmental and Developmental planning response include:
• On 27 March 2020 DEA&DP issued a protocol to all municipalities on “Managing Covid-19 General Household Waste”
• On 2 April 2020 DEA&DP issued a revised protocol to all municipalities, to acknowledge patient confidentiality and its ethical implications, and the possible stigmatization of infected persons – WCG DoH releases information on infected persons via ‘hotspots’ referred to in the DMA regulations and Directions, and also DEA&DP protocol
• The DEA&DP revised protocol has been accepted by the majority of Municipalities as their operational guidelines for managing household waste
• An inter-governmental waste management workstream has been established, that meets weekly via MS Teams – it has representation from WCG DEA&DP, DoH Environmental Health, DoLG, the district municipal environmental health practitioners and the local municipal waste managers, to share learnings and collectively deal with challenges in this sector
• National Department of Health Guidelines on Management of COVID-19 Health Care Waste, were issued on 30 March 2020
• WCG DoH, DTPW and DEA&DP collaborated to formulate WC Health Care Waste Guidelines for planned isolation and quarantine sites
• Joint Health Care Risk Waste Compliance Monitoring Team established by DEA&DP, DoH and CoCT, to do proactive monitoring of levels of regulatory compliance at public and private medical facilities

      Food security and humanitarian response:

• Details of our Environmental and Developmental planning response:
• Providing access to information on SASSA social grants using the various electronic platforms to access these (WhatsApp, USSD, email, call centre numbers)
• Providing assistance for maintaining distance and order in queues
• Activating various platforms including, for example, community leadership, religious leaders and EPWP workers to assist with messaging and keeping order in queues
• Facilitate access to affordable and diverse food through the implementation of food production initiatives.
• Support with the delivery of community and household food gardens (including layers for egg production).
• Distribution of PPE to all subsistence farmers
• Continue with the Rural Advisory Services – whilst adhering to social distancing.
• Created a platform for constant information sharing with all producers in the area.

(b) The Western Cape Government cabinet adopted a Whole of Government response plan, to tackle the spread of Covid-19 in high population areas, where we have recorded high transmission rates. The data-led hotspot strategy aims to change individual and community behaviour in order to slow the spread of the virus and save lives in particular geographic areas that go beyond districts and even sub-districts. This is done in partnership with all levels of government.