Acting Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi together with Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo are visiting the Jubilee Regional Hospital in Hammanskraal to check on the fight against Cholera.
The death toll from the cholera outbreak has risen to 22. In a statement the Department of Health says 21 of the deaths have been recorded in Gauteng, while there is one death in Free State.
Spokesperson for the Health Department Foster Mohale explains: “This urgent visit will enable the political principals to monitor the effectiveness of the current government’s interventions to curb the spread of Cholera disease and save lives, in order to consider further interventions. The delegation will be accompanied by the experts from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), World Health Organisation (WHO) and senior officials from both National and Provincial Health Departments.”
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Education Department says it is working on an urgent plan to supply water to 61 primary and secondary schools in Hammanskraal in Pretoria following the Cholera outbreak in the area.
The department says teaching and learning have not been affected since the discovery of cholera because schools benefit from the supply of water by the municipality. However, there were shortages since schools were sharing with the community.
“The department will continue to supply water to all affected schools and assist the Gauteng Department of Health on advocacy regarding cholera in our schools. It is important that we need to inform on dangers of this sickness and how to prevent it,” explains Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona.
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