KZN premier to welcome Cuban doctors deployed to the province

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala is on Thursday expected to welcome Cuban doctors deployed to the province to help fight Covid-19.

The Cuban deployees are among more than 200 medics from Cuba who have joined the fight against the spread of the coronavirus in South Africa.

The provincial government said the Cuban doctors would be deployed throughout the province.

Zikalala would on Thursday be joined by KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu in welcoming the Cuban medics.

On Tuesday, the executive management of the provincial department of health had a brief meet-and-greet session with the Cuban doctors.

Some of the doctors have been deployed to other provinces, including the Free State, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Wednesday by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive council (PEC) following its meeting on the day, the PEC “noted with appreciation that the province is recording a slight decline in the rate of infections”.

The PEC said it had received an updated report on the spread of Covid-19 in the province as of Wednesday.

“However, the province is still one of those with the highest infection rates and is currently sitting at number four spot in national rankings,” the council noted.

The council further welcomed the report on the increasing number of people who had recovered from Covid-19, “which to date stands at 818”, and the report that the province had gone for another day without any death recorded.

“The executive council also approved the programme by the department of health to recruit more than 1,000 healthcare workers including nurses, medical officers, physiotherapists, psychologists and other categories of staff.”

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)