COVID-19: KZN hospitals still have capacity, Zikalala says

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala insists that the province’s health system is still stable enough to accommodate COVID-19 patients, as the number of cases continues to rise.

Zikalala’s comments come as South Africa recorded close to 22 000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, 6 January 2021, in what Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize described as “a grim milestone” – this brings the number of infections since March 2020 to 1 149 591.

“We still have capacity in terms of the staff but we are also trying to ensure that we look after those who get infected, so that they recover as soon as possible,” Zikalala said during an interview with eNCA.

COVID-19: Zikalala concerned over health workers testing positive

The premier however, has expressed concern over healthcare workers in the province, who have contracted the respiratory virus.

“We are quite worried about the state of affairs. The increase in the number of healthcare workers who are getting infected but I can safely say that our healthcare system is still having sufficient capacity to handle the situation,”

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala

Overall, South Africa currently has 188 984 active cases, with KZN accounting for most of them (76,993), followed by the Western Cape (41,356) and Gauteng (35,727).

Close to 9 000 healthcare workers in KwaZulu-Natal have contracted COVID-19 – 98 of which succumbed to the disease.

There have been disagreements, however, surrounding the state of KZN hospitals and their ability to care for COVID-19, particularly in terms of infrastructure. Zikalala has acknowledged this, and said the matter was being addressed.

“We are attending to that and the department is working around the clock to ensure that the situation is addressed. But in a number of hospitals, the situation is fine (and) the conditions are good,” the premier further said.

Zikalala said the provincial government was working with the healthcare unions to ensure that they intervene in all problem areas.

Six districts in the province – eThekwini, UMgungundlovu, Ugu, Harry Gwala, King Cetshwayo and Illembe, have been declared hotspot areas for the coronavirus.

During his last briefing, Zikalala said family clusters had also increased, which indicates that infected family members are not complying with self-quarantine and self- isolation rules.

“We have also noticed that there is an increase in the number of index cases who are refusing to give a list of their contacts. This is highly problematic, as it hampers contact tracing, which is the cornerstone of the public health response to Covid-19,” he also said.