Thread by @rid1tweets

[Thread] Dear fellow Gautengers

A plea to take extra precaution🙏

The 3rd wave of hospitalisations is here! #COVID19 numbers are about to exceed previous peaks. We're entering uncharted territory. How high we go is still up to us,and our collective behaviour!
#Rid1TweetsonCovid

Gauteng is currently the epicentre of South Africa's 3rd wave, and the most populous province in SA 🇿🇦

There have been over 35000 new cases reported in Gauteng over the past 7 days, i.e. an average of over 5000 per day, up 88% compared to the previous week 📈

#Rid1TweetsOnCovid

Being Covid positive is not your fault, don't blame yourself! And not a death sentence; most people will fortunately recover 🙏

But be responsible and notify possible contacts and exposures. Numbers too high for tracking and tracing now, so it's up to us!

#Rid1TweetsOnCovid

No, the steep surge in cases is not just due to increased testing!
Yes testing rate has increased but that's because there are more infections and more people presenting for testing. The increase in test positivity rate confirms there are still more undetected/unreported cases 🚩

Unfortunately, but importantly, there still remains strong link between case numbers to hospital admissions and ultimately to deaths 🔗

Our combined efforts really can reduce the severity of the peak by the end of the month, and burden on hospitals, but we'll need to act now! ✋

Almost 3000 new hospital admissions in Gauteng last week 🚑

Over 4600 patients currently in hospitals in Gauteng due to #COVID19. Of those, more than 1000 patients are in ICU 🙏

#Rid1TweetsOnCovid

Concerningly, hospitals already struggling now! With next 2 wks already 'locked in', only going to get worse before it does gets better again🙏

We need to closely monitor hospital beds, ICU beds, oxygen capacity, and staff readiness - need to do urgently! 📢

#Rid1TweetsOnCovid

I don't mean to sound alarmist nor cause fear!

I have been receiving a number of DMs from people testing positive 😩

And also personally know too many people testing positive and dying in the community 😢

Deaths are increasing too! Look at the trend-line below ⚠️

With the rise in admissions, unfortunately many more deaths are bound to occur... How many more, is ultimately still up to God 🙏

But we have to also play our part!! 💁‍♂️

#Rid1TweetsOnCovid

BUT we have done it before and we have shown it is possible to reduce transmission! Look at the steep drop from 2nd wave peak in January! 📉
And this in spite of very low vaccine coverage. That sharp drop never received enough coverage and applause 👏👏

#Rid1TweetsOnCovid

Sure, natural immunity plays a big part too and is very important. But, Gauteng had a "less severe" 2nd wave and so likely lower seroprevalence ⬇️

We cannot doubt behavioural change helped in reducing 2nd wave peak. Mobility patterns confirmed significant change in behaviour 👍

And if you're thinking "well, we're only in #Level3, it can't be bad", consider this: The only reason we aren't in a higher #Lockdown level is because there isn't any money left to do so! 🤔

Ultimately, what we really need to do now is afford everyone the best chance of survival by ensuring everyone can still access healthcare facilities without scrambling for beds, ICU facilities, or oxygen

I probably sound like a stuck record! Yes, I am tired of repeating the same thing. And no, I am not getting paid to share and do any of this!!

My hope is that any information shared simplifies the situation and gives people agency to make informed decisions.

All the information and data I do share is publicly available.

And it's not rocket science.

But I hope me sharing this here helps to make some sense of all the numbers and simplify the situation we're in!

A massive thank you to all the healthcare workers. I can only imagine how tired you all are 🙏

For the rest of us, let's help them get through this surge 💪

Don't stop living your lives! But please, just take extra care! 🙏

#Rid1TweetsOnCovid