Gauteng Premier David Makhura says the temporary closure of the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg is a major setback as it plays a vital role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, Makhura announced the temporal closure of the hospital following a fire that broke out on Friday.
The fire has been contained and firefighters are still on scene.
09:15 Visuals of Firefighters at #CharlotteMaxeke pic.twitter.com/ekFN3OVh9y
— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) April 17, 2021
Over 400 patients have been transferred to other hospitals.
Makhura says they regret closing the hospital for this long, but adds that the safety of patients and staff comes first.
“We cannot afford to have Charlotte Maxeke [Hospital] closed for too long because, even with regard to co-treatment of COVID-19 treatment., This is one of our pre-eminent facilities. This is one of the top class public hospital that has developed OTS of innovations in the treatment of COVID-19. We had 13 patients who were COVID-19 patients. Two of them were in the ICU,” explains Makhura.
07:15 Visuals from Charlotte Maxeka Hospital. pic.twitter.com/AG545dwQ82
— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) April 17, 2021
The Premier has commend those who have been working around the clock to ensure that there were no patient casualties from the fire and the evacuation operation.
Details on the cause of fire are still unknown.
In the video below, Makhura is addressing the media:
