2,084 healthcare workers across SA have tested positive for Covid-19, 80% in Western Cape

The infection rate of healthcare workers has become an area of concern, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Friday.

Mkhize was in the Western Cape with President Cyril Ramaphosa to assess the progress in setting up Covid-19 interventions.

The minister said as of 28 May, a total of 2,084 healthcare workers in the public and private sectors across the country had tested positive for Covid-19, with 80% of these cases reported in the Western Cape, the latter reflecting that the province is the epicentre of the virus.

The minister said the figures in the province have led to calls to other provinces for it to be assisted with additional support, with a number of new healthcare workers being recruited from other provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal.

Mkhize said the demand for nurses was expected to increase in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town has said that it was looking for more health professionals “to boost the fight against Covid-19”.

The city’s health department said it was on a recruitment drive for doctors, nurses, clinic managers, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, among others.

Mkhize said on Friday that 28 Cuban specialists and “other additional reinforcements” have been sent to the Western Cape in the fight against Covid-19.

Mkhize said quarantine and isolation strategies need to be strengthened in the province.

“The area that we’ve identified as needing a lot of strengthening in the provincial strategy is the issue of quarantine and isolation. This is the area that I think we need to focus on strongly to ensure that we can cut the cycle of infection.

“A lot of discussions have gone into this and we’ve seen how various departments have come together, who have offered additional beds so we can reach the numbers that we need,” Mkhize said.

Mkhize added there was still a need for more dedicated Covid-19 beds.

“We need to push to up to 30,000 beds. The focus has got to be on those who have turned positive in the past two weeks; that’s where the large source of infection is coming from.

“We are not only dealing with positive cases; we are also dealing with the contacts. This is the area where we believe we are going to make a concerted effort to break the cycle of infection,” the minister said.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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