KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said on Tuesday that the department has welcomed the early signs of Covid-19 infections plateauing in the province. 

“We have witnessed in the past few days a remarkable reduction in the number of infections,” said Zikalala in the provincial executive statement. 

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed this on Sunday, saying South Africa was “over the worst”. 

“We can say we are over the surge. The plateau has started. Western Cape it’s been over two months. KZN is also now decreasing. That’s indicative of a promising time,” wrote Mkhize on Twitter. 

KwaZulu-Natal, which recently occupied the number two spot of most confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country, now has a total of 110 102 positive cases and 93 079 recoveries. The province's collective Covid-19 death toll is 1 998. 

In a matter of one week, the number of new cases has dropped by more than 300, with 647 new cases being recorded on August 18 and 261 on Tuesday.

“Worryingly, four of our districts still contribute the highest number of cases in the province, those being King Cetshwayo District, eThekwini, uMgungundlovu and Amajuba," said Zikalala. 

“We are monitoring the impact of interprovincial travel, the reopening of schools and more sectors of the economy.” 

Zikalala explained that the reopening of schools went “smoothly”, with most teachers reporting for duty, except for the 22 teachers from Chief Lokothwayo Primary School, in Marianhill, who failed to show up. 

The premier said they also faced problems relating to water and sanitation, mobile classes and furniture in some schools; however, these were being managed. 

Mkhize echoed Zikalala's remarks, saying: “At this point we don’t have a shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment). We have a challenge in administration of PPE. We are addressing that. We are not disagreeing with the issues being raised. These must be resolved on the ground.”