Health minister inspects KZN health facilities

HEALTH minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has heaped praise on the KZN Department of Health for managing to create capacity expeditiously to help the province cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. The minister embarked on a two day visit to KZN to inspect the province’s state of readiness, which commenced on Thursday, 6 August. The newly revamped Clairwood Hospital was one of the various health facilities that he visited.

“I used to work here at Clairwood hospital. It was a dreary looking hospital. I’m happy to note it has a refreshing appearance,” he said. Mkhize was pleased that the hospital has 190 additional beds from recently constructed wards as well as 228 beds at a temporary structure which was built in just five weeks. These beds will cater for the eThekwini District’s medical needs especially at Wentworth and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central hospitals.

He confirmed that KZN remains the third highest in terms of Covid-19 numbers. He shared that he expects numbers in the province to continue to rise and possibly have more than those recorded in the Western Cape. “Western Cape is in the downward trend, KZN is in the upward trend. The numbers in KZN have been ranging between 3000 and 3500 cases daily. This is a matter of concern for us,” he said.

Responding to the issue of people dying shortly after showing flu-like symptoms, Mkhize to urged people who are feeling unwell to get tested for Covid-19 and go to hospital to get the necessary treatment. “If you are admitted in hospital, don’t rush to leave. Wait until the doctors decided you need to go back home,” he said.

“This is all important because when we were analysing in the past few weeks, there’s been a debate on excess deaths. What we have seen in the last few months has been a very different presentation of the Covid-19 pandemic from what we initially thought it was going to be. We thought it was going to be a huge surge in the whole country and of course it has completely changed. Some people die at home, and there is no telling whether their deaths are from Covid-19 or not. We are therefore going to be encouraging that our departments work with the funeral parlours to test bodies for the virus,” he said adding that it is only natural that the country has an excess of deaths during the pandemic.

Mkhize thanked all who have heeded the requests and the directives that focus on the containment of the virus.

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