The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) has expressed concerns over the capability of the health sector amid a rise in coronavirus cases, saying they believe the industry is ill-prepared for the second wave.
South Africa is recording a steady increase in new infections having recorded over 866 000 cases since the start of the pandemic and over 23 000 COVID-19 related deaths.
The graphic below shows the country’s latest COVID-19 stats:
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Denosa President Simon Hlungwani says despite welcoming the new restrictions to help curb the spread of the virus, healthcare facilities are experiencing a shortage in bed capacity for patients.
“We must appreciate the ones that have been changed. We were expecting stricter restrictions, but we are currently seeing incidents of accidents and many other trauma cases that are competing with coronavirus patients in terms of bed capacity in hospitals. We are currently facing a serious shortage of beds in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.”
Hlungwani says South Africa does not have a resilient public healthcare system:
