NO ENTRY KZN ‘set to be next epicentre’
OUTBREAK: COASTAL PROVINCE MOVES AHEAD – MKHIZE
Goal now is to avert a shortage of beds and oxygen, says health minister.
While the number of new Covid-19 cases is stabilising in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal is expected to join Gauteng as the country’s epicentre, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warns.
“In the country, Gauteng is still at the top of the rate of infections. KwaZulu-Natal is taking over now,” Mkhize said.
As of Sunday, South Africa had 364 328 confirmed Covid-19 cases, while the death toll was at 5 033.
Gauteng remained the hardest-hit province with 133 617 confirmed cases, while KwaZulu-Natal had 43 215 infections.
Mkhize said his department was in discussions with the coastal province on how to move ahead, as infections were expected to peak in the next few weeks. He said the goal now was to avert a shortage of beds and oxygen.
Mkhize was speaking during his visit to the Nasrec Field Hospital in Johannesburg to assess Gauteng’s readiness for the Covid-19 surge.
He has applauded the clinicians for a job well done in the battle to save lives and he once again affirmed his support.
He has also addressed reports that Gauteng hospital beds were full, which he believed were created by the delays in getting test results, causing patients to be kept under investigation for longer in hospital.
Mkhize said the department was working around the clock to create more bed capacity so no one was turned away at hospitals.
“There are those who may not be admitted because of the doctor’s decision. It will not be because of space, but because of the clinical judgement that they are going to be treated somewhere else,” he said.
He said the drop in trauma patient numbers gave them a huge advantage and would assist clinicians with dealing with Covid-19 patients in the next few weeks.
“Until the surge hits you, you don’t know how to behave. You will only know when you are in the heat of it,” said Mkhize.
He has also assured the province that it would not run out of beds.
“We have an agreement that we’ll shift any patient to the private sector, especially for high care and intensive care,” he said.
The department was working on getting more volunteers, who Mkhize said should be paid timeously.
Gauteng is still at the top of the rate of infections