Vryheid District Hospital designated for COVID-19
Dr Tshabalala indicated that once the assessment of the additional hospitals was done, district managers needed to ensure personal protective equipment was available there.
Lolo Madonsela
Vryheid District Hospital (VDH) is one of latest additional hospitals designated as a coronavirus facility.
Initially, four hospitals were designated – Grey’s, Ngwelezane, Addington and Manguza, with the local healthcare facility joining Clarewood, Doris Goodwin and Richmond hospitals as additional sites to be utilised in the fight against COVID-19.
This was announced by Head of Department: Health in KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Sandile Tshabalala during a coronavirus awareness campaign held in Dumbe near Vryheid recently.
The campaign also included district stakeholders under Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS), a programme encompassing all Government departments.
Dr Tshabalala indicated that once the assessment of the additional hospitals was done, district managers needed to ensure personal protective equipment was available there.
“The department is ready for any eventuality, and we have decided to have more centres for quarantine and have ensured the test results are available within 24 hours, instead of 72 hours.”
Noting a 93 per cent recovery rate in COVID-19 cases, Dr Tshabalala explained none of the remaining critical cases had resulted in patients being admitted to intensive care units. He stated two ways to become infected were contact transmission (touching an infected person or surface) and droplets (usually discharged when an infected person coughs or sneezes).
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“There must be a certain amount of the virus for a person to be infected and if the amount is too little, your body will release antibodies which will fight off the virus. There is no need to walk around wearing a mask, but EMS [Emergency Medical Services] people can use the masks, because they do not have a history of the patient when they fetch them at that time. However, only once infected can a person use the mask to protect others.”
Dr Tshabalala further explained it could take up to 14 days once infected to begin showing symptoms of COVID-19, which include general tiredness, a dry cough and flu-like symptoms.
“People should not assume they have the virus when having symptoms without being tested, because the symptoms are generic. After the test, it is better we isolate you as a department, in order to be able to keep record. Quarantine takes up to 14 days and that is where we ensure you are not in a position to transmit the virus, after which we discharge you.”
Meanwhile, the community of Ngoje near Vryheid is reportedly relieved, after plans to quarantine some of the South Africans returning from China were nixed.
Last week, residents of the area took to the streets to protest against the quarantining of residents at Ntshodwe, a resort which belongs to Ithala Game Reserve.
Residents claimed they were not consulted on the matter. The department then announced it would no longer have people quarantined in the area due to it being too far from the airport.
Instead, the returning South Africans are to be quarantined in Limpopo.
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