Resources stretched to the limit

THE GOVERNMENT has stuck to its guns on the projections for Covid-19 infections over the next six months.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and a team of scientists yesterday insisted that the projections remained and the pandemic would continue to wreak havoc in the country.

The scientists said they were projecting that, in the worst-case scenario, there would be about 40 000 deaths by November. The pandemic would peak in the next few months with about 3 million infections.

The department has been using these models to plan for the future and how to deal with the pandemic.

Covid-19 has left the economy in chaos and many companies buckling under pressure.

The projections have shown that we are not out of the woods. The government will need to continue to find measures to mitigate the rampant spread of the virus.

The numbers that have been coming from the department in the past few days have significantly increased compared with the past two months when the first cases were reported.

Department of Health officials have said they had been expecting the increase, because more screening and tests were being conducted.

The government says it is preparing for another major battle ahead with increasing cases of infections and deaths.

The next few months would be tough and more resources would have to be put into the fight against Covid-19. Billions of rand have been redirected from various projects in the government departments, in order to intensify the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.

However, the proof is now in the pudding with the resources appearing to be stretched to the limit.

The ball is in Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s court when he delivers his special Budget on June 24, on what other resources would be required to fight the virus.

Billions have been set aside to mitigate the impact of the virus, but the coronavirus will be around for some time.

The call is on government to be prudent about how it plans to meet the challenging times by not over-stretching the Budget.

This could mean more cuts in some of the programmes that are not required in the medium to long term.