Statement by the Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Zahid Badroodien

This week, the City of Cape Town’s Health Department will zero in on grant payout points to help ramp up vaccine registration efforts.

The Environmental Health Practitioners aim to visit 65 payout points around the metropole, and will assist residents 60 and older to register on the national Electronic Vaccine Data System (EVDS).

As at Monday 31 May, just over 42% of all persons aged 60+ had registered to be vaccinated in the metropole. This is an improvement from last week, but now more than ever, we need to rally around our older persons so that they can get vaccinated.

Since the official launch of the second phase of vaccinations on 17 May, there were 43 242 vaccinations in the public sector and just under 1 700 in the private sector. Together with the Sisonke rollout, there have been 136 395 vaccinations in the Western Cape.

The City notes that the process has not been without hitches, and we are working with other spheres of government to address these issues.

This includes the vaccination locations for some of our residents, many of whom are expected to travel to areas far away from home as per the confirmation SMSes that they are receiving.

Residents are advised NOT to visit vaccination sites unless they have received their confirmation SMS and to contact the Provincial Call Centre on 0860 142 142 if they have any questions.

Those who have not yet registered on EVDS, are encouraged to do so using the following options:

USSD free service: dial *134*832#

OR send the word “REGISTER” to 0600 123 456 on WhatsApp

OR visit http://vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za

HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS

In the meantime, we ask the public to be Covid-vigilant at all times.

The confirmation from the President earlier this week about the third wave in parts of the country should be a cautionary tale to the Mother City.

While the Western Cape has not officially entered a third wave, we are experiencing a resurgence, particularly in our Western Sub-District in the metropole.

The City reminds everyone to wear their masks, even if they have been vaccinated, keep sanitising their hands and all high use surfaces, and to maintain social distancing at all times.

Compliance is key, for individuals, but also businesses and other places of gathering.

In the last week, the City’s Environmental Health Practitioners conducted compliance inspections at 1 023 premises, of which 953 were found to be compliant.

We can, and must do better, in the interest of public safety.

Source: City Of Cape Town