‘Front-line workers exhausted and struggling to cope’

The founder of the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers, Imtiaz Sooliman, says front-line workers are exhausted and struggling to cope with the influx of COVID-19 infections in the second wave.

The country breached the 1 million COVID-19 infection mark late on Sunday.

We have now breached one million cumulative #COVID19 cases in South Africa. We must adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions to prevent the further spread of the virus. pic.twitter.com/GopO3bJZp8

— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) December 27, 2020

Sooliman says people need to do more to assist in the fight against the pandemic.

He adds that his organisation is turning its attention to KwaZulu-Natal where infections are increasing and oxygen seems to be in short supply.

“In the second wave, it has been more focused in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and now getting huge amount of calls in KZN. Our support includes scrubs, non-contact thermometers, high flow oxygen machines and we are rolling out a new machine.”

“It’s also for oxygen. The CSIR has made available to us thousands of these machines. We have launched them and they are working like a bomb and the doctors absolutely love it. The say these machines are saving lives and we are ready to roll them out in KZN,” explains Sooliman.

Meanwhile, the South African Medical Association (SAMA) wants South Africa to be taken back to Level 2 lockdown, with particular restrictions on gatherings.

In the video below, Dr Angelique Coetzee speaks about the lack of COVID-19 compliance by citizens:

SAMA president, Dr Angelique Coetzee, has warned that hospitals are COVID-19 hotspots.

This comes as doctors and nurses say they are unable to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 patients at hospitals.

Healthcare workers plead with the public to adhere to COVID-19 lockdown regulations: