Durban hospital faces possible closure after 11 staff test positive for coronavirus
Dr Richard Friedland, CEO of the Netcare Group said three Covid-19 patients had died at St Augustine's Hospital in the last 72 hours.
NETCARE St Augustine Hospital is facing possible closure after 11 healthcare workers tested positive for the coronavirus.
This was revealed by Sihle Zikalala, Kwazulu-Natal Premier at a media briefing on Friday afternoon.
Zikalala said the Durban private hospital became a subject of interest for health department officials after treating the late Jackie Shandu, who died due to coronavirus.
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“We are concerned with cases at this hospital. Out of 20 health workers who have been screened, 11 tested positive for Covid-19. We also confirm we have started tracing all patients who were treated at this hospital from 1st of March 2020,” said Zikalala.
“There’s a strong possibility we may shut down the entire hospital and have advised them to stop taking in new patients.”
Earlier today, certain sections of St Augustine Hospital were shut down while staff were being tested for the coronavirus.
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In a statement, Dr Richard Friedland, CEO of the Netcare Group said three Covid-19 patients had died at St Augustine’s Hospital in the last 72 hours.
Friedland said none of the patients had any international travel history and did not show any symptoms when they were admitted.
“Ongoing daily screening of all staff, doctors and contract workers will continue before they are allowed to enter the hospital. This will enable prompt identification and testing of any persons at risk who may not have had symptoms on previous days,” he said.
Both the Department of Health and the NICD are updated on the information and it is government protocol that the information may not be shared without the cognisance of these entities.
The NICD has indicated that they do not divulge information pertaining to any individual incident.
The Berea Mail has asked the Department of Health for comment.
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