Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize has been attending briefings daily since COVID-19 has hit South Africa. Reassurance is given each time and reminds South African’s not to worry.
Dr Mkhize has emphasized that it’s not the South African healthcare system that will tackle the virus, it’s the people. Each citizen has to play their part and ensure good hygiene is kept at all times.
Dr Mkhize reassures that South Africa is ready and if a major outbreak occurs all task forces will follow the correct protocols. The Health Minister also briefly spoke about the healthcare system facing major challenges with nurse shortages, he reassures that this will not affect the prevention and fight against COVID-19 in South Africa.
“This one is an emergency. We are ready to deal with it as an emergency, so that’s what we need to make people understand,”
“Fighting [the] virus is not [the responsibility of] a medical team only, it’s the community [as a whole]. We have the responsibility to stop the virus from spreading, that’s the message for today,” said the Health Minister, Mkhize.
Isolation and Treatment Locations
Today the Health Minister has publicly announced all of the ready hospitals that will play a key part in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in South Africa.
| Polokwane Hospital in Limpopo Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mpumalanga Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, Steve Biko Hospital and Tembisa Hospitals in Gauteng Grey’s Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal Klerksdorp Hospital in the North West Kimberly Hospital in the Northern Cape Pelonomi Hospital in the Free State Livingstone Hospital in the Eastern Cape Tygerberg Hospital in the Western Cape |
An emergency operations centre has been opened in the fight against COVID-19 alongside provinces that have activated their “outbreak response teams”.
