Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says his department will be engaging the National Health Laboratory Services to ensure they speed up the results backlog of COVID-19 tests.
Speaking in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, on his second leg of his visit to the province, Mkhize says results should be returned in time so that those testing positive can be able to manage their situation.
“We would like that such tests should be done and returned fairly quickly so that people know how to manage their situation. But more than that, we are worried about those remaining behind they must be tested.”
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize wraps up his 2-day oversight visit to KwaZulu Natal:
Mkhize also visited the Niemeyer Hospital in Utrecht northern KwaZulu-Natal to assess its state of readiness to receive COVID-19 patients as the province anticipates an increase in coronavirus infections.
The Minister emphasised that funeral parlours need to ensure that bodies of people who have died at home have death certificates signed by a doctor who established the cause of death.
This is one of the measures government will be employing to pick up undocumented COVID-19 deaths.
Mkhize says they will be issuing a circular with guidelines soon to assist funeral parlours and doctors.
