Diary of death
A timeline of the spread of Covid-19 at Durban’s St Augustine’s hospital
MARCH 1
St Augustine’s hospital is asking patients who were admitted there from this date to contact the hospital.
MARCH 6
Netcare issues a statement that it had co-operated with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the national department of health, “aligned clinical protocols for managing Covid-19 with their clinical guidelines”.
MARCH 9
An 81-year-old admitted to the hospital for a suspected stroke.
MARCH 13
A 46-year-old Isipingo teacher was admitted for hypertension and asthma.
MARCH 14
A third patient (details unknown) admitted to the hospital.
MARCH 16
The 81-year-old patient is discharged and taken to Bill Buchanan. She is here for four days and comes into contact with several staff and other patients. Five people - who went into isolation - test positive.
MARCH 21
The 81-year-old is rushed to hospital and placed in ICU with double pneumonia. The following day swabs are taken from her to test for the virus.
MARCH 25
The 81-year-old woman tests positive.
MARCH 27
Health minister Zweli Mkhize confirms that an 81-year-old woman is on a ventilator at the hospital after being admitted for severe asthma.
MARCH 31
The Isipingo teacher dies.
APRIL 2
The 81-year-old woman dies.
A Folweni policeman admitted to the hospital tests positive for Covid-19. The hospital says that deep clean commences. Folweni police station is sanitised.
APRIL 3
Hospital closes trauma unit and bans new admissions after it emerges that three patients (the two women and the third patient admitted on March 14) died from Covid-19 complications and 11 staff test positive.
APRIL 7
Mkhize announces that 66 people have been infected - including 48 staff - following an outbreak of the virus at the hospital.
APRIL 8
Netcare releases a statement confirming the outbreak, advising of measures including co-operation with epidemiologist Prof Salim Abdool Karim and others in a department investigation.
KZN premier Sihle Zikalala and KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu announce the indefinite closure of the hospital.
APRIL 9
President Cyril Ramaphosa announces a two-week extension of the lockdown.
APRIL 10
Mkhize announces an investigation into St Augustine’s hospital by his department.