‘I’m on my knees’: Makhura pleads with Gauteng as Covid cases surge

Stay at home, don’t go to marches, adhere to regulations and stay away from crowds, pleaded Gauteng Premier David Makhura yesterday, saying he was “on my knees”.

“The surge is here, it has not slowed down, the incline is continuing, the only people who can slow it down is the people of our province,” Makhura said.

“I am appealing, I am on my knees. I’m really, really, on my knees. If you know someone who is not complying, someone who is leaving home, going to the shop at the slightest provocation, if you know someone who cannot sit at home without the slightest provocation, this is the time to phone them.”

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Yesterday, 16 078 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded countrywide. Makhura said one in three people in Gauteng was likely to be carrying the virus, and one of them was Dayne Nolan.

Having Covid-19 as a family man was a weird experience for Nolan as the family was now avoiding each other since his results came back positive on Wednesday.

He started feeling “ice cold” on Tuesday night, which prompted him to see a doctor and get tested. Nolan was prescribed around 12 sorts of medication, including cough syrup, vitamins C and D and an oximeter to monitor oxygen saturation.

While he stayed away from family members, his wife, who showed no symptoms, brought him food.

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“[Being isolated at home] is weird but the bedroom door is open. We are just not going into each other’s space. I am always wearing a mask as well,” he said.

While hospital beds in Gauteng are seeing an increase, with more than 10 000 new confirmed cases in the province on Wednesday, the national health department did not have programmes to offer medical support to those recovering at home.

“We have not put in place any such programme,” said spokesperson Popo Maja. The City of Tshwane, however, offered various support measures to residents with Covid-19, including transporting those who have tested positive back home.

“We offer pre-counselling to the contacts and prepare them mentally to cope with the outcome that may say they are positive. With constrained capacity, our social workers do their utmost to render as much assistance as practical and possible.”

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“We phone them and explain the dos and don’ts. We also transport them home,” said Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba.

Private nursing is often an unaffordable option and those who are sick are advised to go to the hospital or clinics, said Rirhandzu Chauke, a Gauteng private nurse from the Society of Private Nurse Practitioners of SA.

They do, however, assist patients to source oxygen if it is prescribed by a doctor. Those recovering at home are advised to use the 10-day isolation period to rest, even if they start to feel better, Chauke said.

Compiled by Rorisang Kgosana, Marizka Coetzer, Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni and Jonty Mark