Western Cape calls for reopening of businesses, end to alcohol ban in the province – SABC News

Winde has appealed to businesses to always act with the best interests of their clients and staff at heart and abide by the COVID-19 restrictions and regulations to ensure maximum safety.

The province also said clinical protocols are already being developed for the use of the drug, Dexamethasone, in its battle against the disease, following outcomes of a recovery trial in the United Kingdom, which shows a positive impact on severely ill patients and those on ventilators.

In the video below, Prof Salim Karim unpacks the use of Dexamethasone to treat COVID-19:

Dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory medication which was found to have reduced mortality rates by a third, has been hailed as a breakthrough in saving the lives of those severely ill with COVID-19.

Health Department Head Keith Cloete said South Africa is a major manufacturer of the oral form of the drug and also has large stocks of the intravenous version.

The ministerial advisory committee in SA has already considered the results and has made a recommendation that we should use. On the basis of the results of the study, Dexamethasone in the treatment of people on ventilators and the treatment of people on oxygen because of the good results that have been recorded in the study.”

The results of the Oxford University trial, although not yet formally published, have paved the way for its use in decreasing COVID-19 deaths. Provincial Health Minister, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, says the drug will be introduced as an essential drug.