More than 8,000 people have been screened in Western Cape communities since a national door-to-door COVID-19 initiative started over the weekend.

Of those, 449 people have been tested and are awaiting results.

A premier’s briefing has also revealed 522 people are now infected in the province.

Head of the Western Cape’s Health Department Dr. Keith Cloete said screening and testing were vital at this stage of the COVID-19 battle.“It tells us a lot with where we are also in terms of local community transmission of the virus.”

Just over 400 of the province’s 522 confirmed cases are in Cape Town.

Across the rural regions, there are 99 coronavirus cases.