- Premier David Makhura and Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi visited mining companies in the West Rand to assess their employer-based vaccination sites.
- Makhura said ramping up vaccination was key for the province to beat the third wave.
- Makhura said the number of infections and hospitalisations were down but the province was not out of the woods yet.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura says although the provincial Covid-19 numbers have been decreasing steadily, the province is not out of the woods yet.
"We should say that our province is doing exceptionally well in terms of getting out of the third wave. We are experiencing a significant decline in a number of indicators; the number of infections on a week-to-week basis have declined between 23% and 25% and that’s a very good sign. But we are still in the third wave," he said.
"We need to reach a certain threshold of our seven-day weekly average. We are not yet there, but the numbers are moving.”
Hospitalisations are down by 17% in the province.
On Friday, he and the Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi visited mining companies in the West Rand to assess their employer-based vaccination sites. They visited sites at Harmony Gold Mining, Sibanye-Stillwater Gold and Gold Fields LTD.
In June, when the province welcomed healthcare workers from the military health services to assist during the height of the third wave, Makhura characterised the province as burning.
“The fire is still there, it is not yet extinguished. The safest way to extinguish the fire is to vaccinate because we know it’s up and down. We know that it’s one wave after the other, but when we have vaccinated more people, we know that even if you try to burn down the house, the house is very secure,” said Makhura.
At Sibanye-Stillwater Gold’s Lebanon vaccine site, 10 000 vaccines have been administered. Harmony Gold’s Mponeng vaccination site has administered 6 000 vaccines jabs while Gold Fields have inoculated 80% of its staff.
WATCH: Dr Tumi Legobye, Health Executive at Harmony Gold takes Premier @David_Makhura through the Mponeng Vaccination Site at Harmony Gold. Over 6000 employees have been fully vaccinated since the site opened in June 2021. #iChooseVaccination #VaccinesSaveLives pic.twitter.com/r2mro0VRSF
— GautengGov (@GautengProvince) August 13, 2021
“We are giving them both Pfizer and J&J, so it’s up to them to decide which vaccine they give. In most cases you find that they have got people that are working outside, so preferably it would be good to give them J&J, so they don’t have a problem of coming back. From what I observed from the first mining house, they are currently giving Pfizer,” said Mokgethi.
Makhura also commended the mining companies for their plans to vaccinate community and family members once they have completed their staff.
Richard Cox, the executive vice president of the Sibanye Gold segment, thanked the premier and government for the vaccine supply.
"We are working together and we can see a way of how we are going to ramp up [vaccinations] by the end of September where we will be in a position to administer 60 000 vaccines a month which we will extend to communities. We are busy in the formulation of that plan at the moment."
The premier also appealed to the youth to register for vaccination on 1 September.
"We need the youth to vaccinate not so they can go and party. They should vaccinate so that they are safe and live longer," he said.