Gauteng in drive to curb coronavirus

Gauteng has been divided into four medical clusters led by central hospitals attached to medical schools to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The clusters are: Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.

By Monday evening, Gauteng – which is now the hotspot of the virus in the country – had registered 103 713 positive cases and 644 deaths.

Health MEC Bandile Masuku accompanied Health Minister

Zweli Mkhize at the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria, yesterday to inspect its state of readiness.

Last week, the hospital was in the spotlight after a two-yearold child was allegedly raped at the facility. The victim had been placed in isolation at the hospital after being suspected of contracting the coronavirus. The girl later tested negative.

Masuku said the incident saddened them.

“It is not our intention to have incidents like this happening within our facilities. One thing that we have been doing is to strengthen our security and have put up good security at the hospital,” he said.

Masuku called for calm and for people to allow the police to complete the investigation.

He later said they were currently building a site that would accommodate 300 beds at the hospital for Covid-19 patients.

Masuku said the site should be ready by the middle of next month.

“We are putting a lot of effort in saving lives. Without our health workers we will not be able to mount any response against the pandemic,” he said. – News24 Wire