Mpumalanga on top of pandemic, for now
On Tuesday the Mpumalanga Department of Health (DoH) said despite the increase, the 33 local hospitals in Mpumalanga are coping.
South Africa has been moved back to level 4 of lockdown and local hospitals are experiencing a high volume of patients with Covid-19-related conditions.
The country was moved back to level 4 due to an increase in virus cases. This appears to have made the public anxious whether the third wave will hit harder than the first.
On Tuesday the Mpumalanga Department of Health (DoH) said despite the increase, the 33 local hospitals in Mpumalanga are coping. On Monday 620 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the province and on Tuesday 527 new cases.
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The death toll stood at 1 508 at the time of going to press. The vaccines administered on June 29 totalled 124 443. The DoH spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, said, “Mpumalanga is seeing an increase in Covid-19 cases, however, our local hospitals are coping. Meanwhile, the department is on alert and activating facilities for case management throughout the province.”
Dr Gerrit de Villiers, chief clinical officer of Mediclinic Southern Africa, said, “We can confirm that Mediclinic Nelspruit is currently experiencing increasing volumes of patients with Covid-19-related conditions. Our facility remains available to receive both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients.
Patients are encouraged to consult with their general practitioner for initial diagnosis and support, who will refer their patients on to a hospital for further care if necessary,” he explained.
De Villiers said the hospital bed capacity remains fluid and this dynamic situation is continuously monitored and addressed.
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“Where possible, measures are also in place to further increase our capacity through reallocation of non-Covid-19 units as well as ensuring that oxygen capacity is sufficient to support the needs for supplemental oxygen in our wards.
Where the surge is being experienced differently between our regions, we are able to move equipment such as ventilators to areas under pressure, and key resources such as oxygen availability are constantly being monitored.”
“Human resource capacity was increased during previous waves when additional training was provided to upskill nursing staff from other units to assist in pressure areas such as ICU and high care,” he said.
Candice Peterson, marketing manager of Kiaat Private Hospital, said, “Our hospital remains fully functional; doctors and hospital management are monitoring the situation. Upon patient presentation at our emergency centre, medical professionals will assess patients and determine the need for further treatment.”
“As a hospital, we advise Mbombela citizens to take precautionary measures of wearing a mask, handwashing and social distancing. This will assist in reducing the spread of the virus and ensuring beds are not placed under pressure in our medical facilities across Mpumalanga,” said Peterson.
The DoH has released a list of various sites for vaccinations. There are fixed sites and temporary ones. The fixed sites in Ehlanzeni District are Rob Ferreira Hospital, Shongwe Hospital and Mapulaneng Hospital.
