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

Theres 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.

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.

Mellados 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 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 Makhuras calls for tighter lockdown restrictions.

Here is the original post:

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