The Gauteng Department of Health is planning on using the Nasrec Expo Centre as a health facility to accommodate COVID-19 patients.
It says it is looking at various options in both the public and private sectors to accommodate patients should the pandemic get worse.
The department is looking at using the Nasrec facility to accommodate at least 2000 patients at a time.
Gauteng Health Department Spokesperson Kwara Kekana says, “The Gauteng Department of Health is looking at various private and public facilities for the purposes of quarantine for COVID-19 cases. Some of the facilities include Nasrec that is being looked into as a facility that can accommodate cases for the purposes of quarantine. The department is also in constant engagement with the private sector facilities to assist with its own bed capacity to accommodate some of the COVID-19 cases in the province.”
In the video below, Researcher Zamanzima Mazibuko speaks about SA’s health care system’s readiness to deal with COVID-19 pandemic:
COVID-19 testing centres
The City of Johannesburg has opened 21 free testing clinics around the city.
The country has confirmed five deaths and 1 462 positive cases so far. More than 44 000 people have been tested.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development in the City of Johannesburg Eunice Mgcina is urging people to visit the clinics only if they experience COVID-19 symptoms.
Mgcina says, “All of them, they are operational. We feel there is a need to have those testing centres because we need to have our people tested. Please bear in mind that people who are to go to those testing centres are people who had the symptoms. It’s not necessary for people to go to those clinics if they don’t have the symptoms as well to avoid a stampede. It’s critical that our people, as they realise the symptoms, they are able to get tested in those clinics.”
In the video below, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize launches COVID-19 mobile sampling and testing units:
Below is a Live Tracking of the cases, death toll and other information:
