MEC pleads for community’s full cooperation
Space and beds are reportedly running out in most hospitals in Mpumalanga. This is due to the high number of people being admitted and treated for Covid-19.
These alarmingly soaring numbers have prompted the MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, to once again appeal for behavioural change. Manzini said the only way government could win the fight against Covid-19 is if members of the public change their behaviour towards this pandemic and the way they carry themselves.
“We are continuing to monitor our Covid-19 cases, but we are worried about the ever-escalating numbers of positive cases. We are currently monitoring the City of Mbombela, Steve Tshwete, eMalahleni and Govan Mbeki local municipalities as we are seeing their numbers increasing every day,” she said.
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“It is a known fact now that Covid-19 positive cases are going up and government alone cannot win the battle. There is a great need for our people to start taking this pandemic seriously and also to begin changing their attitude towards this killer virus. As government, we are doing everything in our power to ensure that we all remain safe, but we will never be safe and healthy as long as we continue to live carelessly and roam around without face masks. We need to work together to fight this,” pleaded Manzini.
Manzini spoke to Mpumalanga News on Monday during her visit to the Pienaar based Ziweni Community Healthcare Centre. She spent the day monitoring the implementation of the clinic-based model in relation to the resurgence. During the last term of 2020, the entire country experienced a rise in cases, which prompted Pres Cyril Ramaphosa to place the country back at lockdown level 3 with stricter restrictions.
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By December 25, the province had recorded a total of 34 081 positive cases, 1 672 active cases and 630 confirmed deaths.
By January 11, these numbers had skyrocketed to 43 277; an average of 613 people were being infected per day. The number of people dying had also gone up from 630 to 682. With private hospitals such as Mediclinic already running out of beds due to the high volume of patients, Manzini argued that if people do not change their behaviour, public hospitals could also soon run out of space, too.
“This is really a cause for concern. Just imagine if the entire or half of the province’s population was to be infected, then we would have no space at all in all our healthcare facilities. We really need to change how we behave,” she stressed.
“As a province though, we are ready to make sure that our facilities are able to meet the demand. We are continuing to screen people daily so that those with symptoms are tested. However, the best way to be ready and prepared is the changed behaviour of our people.”
“The public can assist us as government by ensuring that we don’t wait for the police to instruct you to wear your face masks or observe social distancing, and better yet, to stay home and avoid unnecessary gatherings,” appealed Manzini.
