Government says the provisional costs to accommodate people who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in private-owned establishments is estimated at more than R28 million. The Department of Public Works says it has identified more than 700 privately owned properties, including four-star hotels nationwide.
Briefing both the Public Works and the Select Committees on Public Works in Parliament, Acting Deputy Director Morris Mabinja said more than 600 state-owned facilities have currently being identified as quarantine sites.
The Department presented a detailed list of provinces, districts and metros where these facilities are located. Its presentation indicated that most people were being quarantined in privately owned properties.
“ Those are the amounts that which we have budgeted for. The total amount which is R28 million. Then we come to the state-owned facilities. There was also a question that was raised around the state-owned facilities, there are two state facilities that the Department of Public Works has made available for activation to the Department of Health.”
In the video below, more than 30 sites identified to quarantine COVID-19 victims:
Public Works Minister Patricia De Lille says more than 1 300 sites for quarantine have now been identified.
“Up until today, we have identified over 1 300 sites. We are currently about 250 sites that are ready to be activated…over 5 000 beds and the procedure is that the Department of Health will request us to activate facilities based on the numbers that they have.”
But some committee members questioned the use of private property for quarantine instead of state-owned facilities.
“The cost of private-owned facilities will be R28 million. Would this money not have been better put to use in upgrading our state sites and using this money in our state sites rather than pumping this money into private sites?” asked African Christian Democratic Party Member of Parliament, Wayne Thring.
In his response, Public Works Director-General Sam Vukela said the final decision on which sites to be used for quarantine purposes does not entirely depend on the department.
“Our wish is that we could be using only public facilities-that is our wish. However, because it’s a multidisciplinary approach this one, we work with other departments. The Department of Health is the one that does the assessment and when they do the assessment a lot of houses that they assess; the Department of Public Works makes them available. They said it’s costly for them to use houses in particular. The reason being that in each quarantine facility, they have to put a health practitioner, an administrator and a security official.”
Mabinja again told the committees that provincial departments also use their own discretion on quarantine establishments to be used.
“Provincial Public Works have their own facilities which they avail in terms of the assets register to serve as quarantine. For any refurbishments – the provinces followed its own procurement processes and its account.”
The graphic below shows the latest coronavirus stats in South Africa :
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