Covid battle outlook grim
HEALTHCARE ‘EXPERIENCING STRAIN’ Hospitalisation up by 18.3% in just one week, says minister.
Despite a promising decline in the number of Covid-19 infections in the past week, experts have warned of a grim situation in the absence of sustained intervention by authorities.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize this week shared a bit of good news when he revealed that SA has seen some promising signs of decline in Covid-19 transmissions, with a 23% decrease in cases compared to the previous seven days.
But the minister also indicated that the country’s healthcare system continued to experience significant strain, with hospitalisation showing an 18.3% increase on 16 January compared to seven days prior.
Stellenbosch University epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes echoed Mkhize’s sentiments, saying the health services were under great pressure.
Barnes said the efforts so far to procure large numbers of doses of vaccine needed to offer protection to the population have been disappointing and shrouded in secrecy.
She was concerned about the lack of detailed roll-out plans, guarding against failure and fraud.
Dr Shakira Choonara, an independent public health practitioner, said given the issues with vaccine procurement, financing and the health system’s endemic woes, SA’s Covid-19 battle did not look good.
She said it was only if the country secured vaccines and ensure a smooth roll-out that a better scenario could be expected.
“Latest evidence shows we also need to consider reinfections and we are not yet sure how the variant is going to play out,” Choonara said.
She added that four provinces that needed close watching were Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Dr Glenda Davison, associate professor and head of the biomedical sciences department at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, said SA was likely to have a third wave.
She said there were ways to prevent a third wave: vaccinate everyone or at least enough people to achieve herd immunity.
“This should begin at the end of January with healthcare workers. However, it will take at least another year to get enough people vaccinated. We must become compliant with the prevention protocols.”
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