Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the Western Cape government on Friday to prepare more hospital beds for Covid-19 patients and to do more to alleviate the social challenges caused by Covid-19.
“It is not only the national department’s responsibility. I also don’t think the number of hospital beds provided by the province is enough, ”he said during a visit to that province.
The Western Cape has so far recorded more than 27,000 (66%) of the country’s 40,792 Covid-19 cases. A total of 77% (651) of the nationwide deaths were reported in the Western Cape.
The provincial government told Ramaphosa that there was a shortage of staff and funding, but he said it was not an excuse.
“This is a war we have to win. Money is not a factor; lives must be saved. I will not accept any excuse that we were unable to locate enough trained medical personnel, ”Ramaphosa said during a visit to Cape Town on Friday.
He announced that a further R3 billion had been allocated to the Western Cape for the fight against the coronavirus. Dr. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize also appears to be ready to send military medical personnel to the province to assist health officials.
The president’s visit comes a day after South Africa saw the biggest increase in Covid-19 cases within 24 hours. The number of cases increased by more than 3,000 between Wednesday and Thursday.
