Covid-19 infections in the Western Cape topped 500 on Wednesday.

Twenty new infections took the provincial total to 510, premier Alan Winde said in his daily update. Thirty-one patients were in hospital, including nine in intensive care.

Winde said nearly 4,000 people had been screened in their communities since the weekend. “Of these, 258 people were referred for testing.”

Winde was screened and tested on Wednesday by Dr Justin Standaar from Green Point Community Clinic.

“After answering the questions that form part of the screening, Dr Standaar performed two swabs — one from the top of my nasal passage, and another from my throat,” Winde said.

“The test was slightly uncomfortable, being something I had never experienced before, but it was painless and is 100% safe.”

Winde said the provincial government an Cape Town had launched a tool to help businesses locate and apply for financial support to help them through the Covid-19 lockdown.

“The tool asks users five easy questions, ranks the answers according to predetermined criteria, and provides a list of relief measures the business could apply for, all in under a minute,” he said.

The University of Cape Town said on Wednesday that its first student to test positive for Covid-19 had recovered.

A staff member tested positive in the past week and all the staff member's contacts were in 14 days' quarantine, said spokesperson Elijah Moholola.

“UCT has now had seven cases of Covid-19 — four staff members and three students. This includes the two cases referred to,” he said.