Covid-19 cases in Limpopo on the increase as Ramathuba asks for more medical personnel

Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba has expressed concern after the province confirmed 19 positive cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, an increase from 14 on Wednesday.

All new cases were local transmission, said Ramathuba.

“As a rural province we are seeing that prior to the lockdown our numbers were very low, we were around six, but today after everyone returned back from urban areas, our numbers, as I speak now, are at 19.

“It’s gonna be difficult as a resource-constrained province to win the battle against Covid-19 in a hospital setting or ICU. I would be lying if I said I had the resources for that. Even First World countries are struggling with that.

“So we need as many professionals as possible to be deployed on the ground following the pronouncement by the president that if we can put our efforts on the screening in those particular villages, that is when we will win our battle because once we do that we can test and isolate. If we don’t do that, I can tell you, I see danger,” she told eNCA.

The province welcomed news of its first case of a Covid-19 patient who had fully recovered now tested negative.

The 28-year-old doctor was the first confirmed case in the province after his return from Europe.

Ramathuba commended the doctor’s “self-discipline” after he immediately self-quarantined upon his return and after testing positive.

“This must also give hope to the community to say if we do what is right, we can contain the spread of this disease,” said Ramathuba.

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