Sir
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu should not speak with a forked tongue when it comes to Covid-19 infection rates in our province. That she and her department only confirmed the number of infections of healthcare workers at Addington Hospital after the information was leaked to the media is simply shocking.
To top it off, she then claimed that these infections weren’t hidden by the department and hospital management – as all figures are known and released by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and National Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
What the MEC failed to mention though is that these area-, district-, municipality- and facility-specific cases are in fact embargoed by the Provincial Command Council – an issue which she confirmed during a provincial health portfolio committee meeting on Tuesday.
During a recent health portfolio committee meeting, the DA established that Addington staff were not timeously informed of the Covid-19 infection at the hospital.
This delay in releasing information not only put essential health workers at risk, it also compromised the safety of patients. Committee members were also informed that the so-called ‘case zero’ was linked to the ongoing infection hot-spot at St Augustine’s Hospital, with the infection then spreading among other workers at Addington Hospital. MEC Simelane-Zulu was also quick to release the case numbers from Netcare hospitals, yet delayed them for public hospitals.
This raises major issues regarding her motives.
Information is one of the primary weapons in combating the spread of Covid-19.
The release of area-specific case numbers will inform communities and hospital staff of their risk, and allow them to take the relevant protective actions.
The KZN Provincial Command Council’s decision to embargo this information has placed more people at risk, while the current excuse by KZN’s ANC-led executive that it will cause stigma is both null and void. This is epitomised by recent community protests at Ntunjambili Hospital, where consultations and information about Covid-19 would have prevented violence.
The DA will continue to fight for transparency and access to information.
South Africa is a constitutional democracy and no government can hide vital information from its citizens. The government should treat its citizens as responsible adults, not as children.
Dr Rishigen Viranna, MPL (DA KZN spokesperson on health)
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