The South African Medical Association (SAMA) wants South Africa to be taken back to level 2 lockdown, with particular restrictions on gatherings. 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:
SAMA says the rapid spread of the virus is caused by failure by many members of the public who are not wearing masks and failing to follow all heath protocols. She says shortage of nurses and doctors also adds to the burden.
Coetzee says Level 2 Lockdown should be re-introduced as gatherings and malls are a problem.
“SAMA would only ask to go to Level 2 again. What we have said: make sure there are restrictions on gatherings because gatherings and shopping centres are our problems. Also, make sure if your loved one is going to a hospital because they are not feeling well; please don’t take the whole family with. It is a COVID-19 hotspot. Stay at home. Take your husband to the casualty. Leave him there and pick him up if he can go home afterward. Do not stay in those facilities. Were your mask. Do not go to a wedding not wearing your mask.”
South Africa’s COVID-19 cases are nearing the 1 000 000 mark.
Overnight, the country recorded 11 552 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases to 994 911.
It also recorded 245 new COVID-19 related fatalities, pushing the death toll to 26 521.
