Acting Minister of Health Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has confirmed that the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg, will be reopened in phases, starting from next week.
The hospital was closed from late April, following a fire incident that gutted several floors. Almost 1 000 patients had to be relocated to other hospitals.
Kubayi-Ngubane says the oncology department will be the first to open next week.
“We can confirm now that by next week the oncology side at Charlotte Maxeke will be handed over to start operating, which is phase 1. And once we have a date for phase 2, we will announce it. But I can confirm that work has been done with the province and it was based on what we needed to do. And I think the other issue that was a challenge was around the fire doors that needed to be manufactured and that took longer because without those the certificates would have taken longer to be issued.”
Response to Gauteng’s surge in COVID-19 cases
In response to the surge in COVID-19 cases in Gauteng, the acting Minister of Health says the Military Health Service has been roped in to assist the sector.
Of the 11 767 new cases reported in the last 24-hours nationwide, 7 502 are from Gauteng.
Kubayi-Ngubane has appealed to Gauteng residents to strictly adhere to COVID-19 health protocols amid a rise in infections across the province.
“I would really want to appeal, can we respond and save the lives of many South Africans in your province as the health practitioners are starting to be under pressure. We have requested additional capacity to assist Gauteng in terms of military help that has moved into the province to assist us by moving into the hospitals.”
“We need the human capital for the beds we are making available for managing the pandemic. The second area they will assist us in, is around mass testing, screening and contact tracing,” explains the minister.
The Acting Minister of Health together with a panel of experts have been briefing the media on the progress of government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19, including an update on the national vaccination roll out programme.
Briefing below:
