Gauteng health assures Muslim community to continue with Halaal food services
This matter comes after a circular suggested that the facility would no longer serve its Muslim patients with Halaal food.
A sign at the Helen Joseph hospital in Westdene. Picture: Refilwe Modise
The Gauteng Health Department has dismissed claims that Muslim patients at Helen Joseph Hospital would no longer be served Halaal food as of Tuesday, 15 December.
This is after a circular made rounds on the matter, with department assuring the public that the facility would continue to provide its patients with Halaal food services.
“We can assure the Muslim community that the Acting Head of Department earlier today (16 December) instructed Helen Joseph Hospital to immediately and unreservedly withdraw the said memo,” the department said in a statement on Wednesday.
The department noted that the plan to cease Halaal food services was “unacceptable” and further offered its apology to the Muslim community.
“The move to stop providing Halaal food services was as a result of poor planning from the side of the facility and simply unacceptable.
“The Gauteng Health Department extends a heartfelt apology for the inconvenience caused as a result of the poor management of the issue by the hospital.
“The matter has since been resolved, and we wish to allay the fears of Muslim patients and their loved ones that the service will not be interrupted,” the department added.
ALSO READ: Tshwane seeing steady increase in Covid-19 hospital admissions
In other news, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has confirmed that earlier reports that South Africa’s economic hub Gauteng was officially experiencing a second wave of Covid-19 infections, were inaccurate.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday afternoon, the NICD clarified that during the press briefing earlier in the day, at the online launch of the SACMC epidemic Explorer, one of the members of the South African COVID-19 Modelling Consortium (SACMC) misspoke, when suggesting Gauteng had entered a second wave.
“This was an error. Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal meet the definition of a second wave, whilst Gauteng is experiencing a period of sustained increase as indicated by the plots,” the NICD said in it’s retraction.
Gauteng remains in the number one spot, with the highest number of Covid-19 cases countrywide.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
