The City of Joburg has availed two clinics in each of its seven regions to screen patients for Covid-19 in case of a wider outbreak.
The municipality has also established a 24-hour Joint Operations Disaster Management Centre (JODMC) at Metro Centre to assist local residents with any emergencies during the country’s national state of disaster.
Amid reports by authorities that Johannesburg is the epicentre of the virus in the country, the City has staffed the JODMC with health-care professionals, officers from the JMPD and personnel from Emergency Management Services (EMS).
The executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Geoffery Makhubo, has lauded the City’s health department for the coordinated, responsive and rapid manner in which it has responded to coronavirus.
“As a City, we cannot and will not fail the residents. Working with the province and the national governments, we intend to provide the requisite health-care support and facilities to enable us to rapidly identify infected persons, provide treatment through the dedicated health facilities and the means to quarantine those with whom they have been in contact.
“The 14 clinics we have identified are intended to immediately relieve pressure off provincial facilities over the coming weeks and will assist us in intensify testing and to respond rapidly to suspected cases of infection,” said Makhubo.
The City is also training health-care workers on Covid-19 to assist residents with education and contact tracing, focusing on high density and high risk areas. This is again a measure to ensure we minimise infection and exposure.
The City has also identified several facilities within its property portfolio for use as quarantine facilities, which are currently being assessed by the health department and other relevant structures to guarantee their suitability.
Similarly, nine facilities have been identified as shelter for the homeless and over 2 000 homeless people have been housed at these facilities. The facilities are inadequate to accommodate the estimated population of 15 000 homeless persons within the City, but efforts are being made to create additional capacity using open spaces equipped with temporary shelter, ablution facilities and showers.
“We are moving swiftly to provide much-needed facilities and supplies to our health-care centres, quarantine sites, shelters as well as to our selfless employees in our essential and health services departments.
“We also wish to thanks the various organisations, individuals and corporates who have joined in on our efforts through donations of mattresses, sanitisers, masks and many other required amenities during this period,” he said.
The City encourages any other persons and organisations that may still wish to donate whatever necessary supplies to the City for the benefit of the communities to do so via Bongi Mokaba, director of events, on 082 559 3823.
Residents of Joburg who wish to locate clinics made available for Covid-19 screening are urged to contact the City’s 24-hour Disaster Management Centre on 010 224 0932.
