Covid-19: We’re not ready for the second wave, says Denosa

Government is not prepared for the expected second wave of Covid-19 infections which could force the country into another lockdown, nursing union Denosa has warned, as concerns over intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity spread across provinces currently experiencing outbreaks of the virus.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Wednesday confirmed that the country is in a second wave of the pandemic, listing four provinces which contributed the most to new infections this month. Most new infections were coming from the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Meanwhile, a report by the Auditor-General’s office warned that the government was failing at implementing many of its interventions bankrolled by the Covid-19 Relief Fund, with failed projects marred by missing money, resources and incorrect procurement processes.

‘We need to pull ourselves together’

“We were not prepared for the first wave and I can tell you for free, there is no preparedness for the second wave,” said Denosa Secretary General Cassmi Lekhoete.

“For the same reason that as a country I am of the view that  we are not pulling ourselves together to make sure that we contain this thing.

“If one province drops the ball then others will follow suit. Our call was always for the department to ensure a reliable supply of PPE. Secondly, the health department and government need to strengthen the regulations in affected areas, especially where the cases are skyrocketing. Holiday destinations like KZN will be in trouble if they don’t watch out.”

Current hospitalisations across South Africa. Graphic: Costa Makola

Government mulling next steps as numbers spike

This week, KwaZulu- Natal (KZN) health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu warned residents ignoring Covid-19 safety guidelines and attending events could face tougher action. The province had 8 000 active cases as of Wednesday and peaked at 804 new cases on Tuesday.

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In the Western Cape, hospitals were seeing an increase in the admission of people who were Covid-19 and non Covid cases, according to provincial health department spokesperson Mark van den Heever. This was due to us needing to reintegrate non-Covid services.

“Without singling out any hospitals, as a collective the Metro hospitals currently operate at 81% with 861 open beds and the Rural hospitals operate at 84% with 415 beds available. This changes daily. Bed occupancy of all beds across the platform is monitored through our Bed Bureau system and managed accordingly to assess the need as the resurgence progresses,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mkhize said government would give further clarity on whether hotspot provinces would be subjected to further restrictions after President Cyril Ramaphosa met with cabinet.

Mkhize said his office sent a letter to health MECs in all the provinces, urging them to prepare their respective provinces for a second wave.

He said provinces needed to ensure that testing turnaround times were as quick as possible to facilitate patient flow and assess bed capacity. This would include recalling field hospital beds, attending to staffing and equipment needs urgently, and tightening up oversight.

Preparing for the worst

Government is upgrading existing facilities in Gauteng, including the expansion of the Nasrec Field Hospital.

Infrastructure upgrades are also under way to increase ICU capacity at four major hospitals. According to provincial department spokesperson Kwara Kekana, there were no hospitals nearing or at capacity in terms of ICU beds in the province.

Meanwhile in the Free State, over 154 unoccupied ICU beds are available at the moment across three of its hospitals.

“Our call to the public is for them to seek appropriate hospital care when they are not feeling well, instead of treating themselves at home and then end up dying at home,” said Free State health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi.

“We have also encountered a number of corpses that test positive, especially those who die in various accidents. Our policy in the province is to test every death against Covid-19 and we do find these in accidents and those who die at home from unrelated Covid19 deaths.”

The department is calling on all people using the five key national roads, (N1, N3, N5, N6 and N8) as well as those who visit their families and relatives during the festive season to fully observe the basic non-pharmaceutical intervention prevention methods.

Simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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