Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku will be visiting the Johannesburg Expo Centre on Tuesday to check on the centre’s state of readiness to accommodate COVID-19 patients.
The Expo Centre has been converted into a facility to accommodate coronavirus patients in order to supplement designated health facilities in Gauteng.
According to the Department of Health, Gauteng has the highest number of COVID-19 confirmed cases with 890. The country has tested over 83 000 people and has 2272 confirmed cases as of April 13, 2020.
Gauteng Health Department Spokesperson Kwara Kekana says, “The Gauteng Department of Health is looking at various private and public facilities for the purposes of quarantine for COVID-19 cases. Some of the facilities include Nasrec that is being looked into as a facility that can accommodate cases for the purposes of quarantine. The department is also in constant engagement with the private sector facilities to assist with its own bed capacity to accommodate some of the COVID-19 cases in the province.”
MPILO ENHANCED TO HELP FIGHT COVID-19: We have added a COVID-19 feature onto Mpilo, our patient engagement app.Mpilo now has a self screening feature and has a Coronavirus educational platform to help with some of the frequently asked questions. pic.twitter.com/SnnDemHfaS
— Dr Bandile Masuku (@bandilemasuku) April 7, 2020
COVID-19 testing centres
The City of Johannesburg has opened 21 free testing clinics around the city.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development in the City of Johannesburg Eunice Mgcina is urging people to visit the clinics only if they experience COVID-19 symptoms.
Mgcina says, “All of them, they are operational. We feel there is a need to have those testing centres because we need to have our people tested. Please bear in mind that people who are to go to those testing centres are people who had the symptoms. It’s not necessary for people to go to those clinics if they don’t have the symptoms as well to avoid a stampede. It’s critical that our people, as they realise the symptoms, they are able to get tested in those clinics.”
In the video below, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize launches COVID-19 mobile sampling and testing units:
