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The suspended health MEC gave Bloom 24 hours to retract her statement about the admission of patients to the Nasrec field hospital.
FILE: Gauteng Health MEC Dr. Bandile Masuku addressing the media in Johannesburg during a press conference on July 17, 2020. Image: @ GautengProvince / Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – Gauteng Health MEC Dr. Bandile Masuku has threatened the spokesman for the Democratic Alliance (DA) on health in the province, Jack Bloom, with legal action following his comments on alleged financial mismanagement at the largest COVID-19 facility in the province.
The suspended MEC gave Bloom 24 hours to retract her statement regarding the admission of patients to the Nasrec field hospital.
The facility, which Bloom said in a statement Wednesday cost around R350 million, was intended to house at least 1,500 patients.
“According to a presentation made to the Gauteng Legislature Oversight Committee on the Prime Minister’s Office and the Legislature, the Nasrec field hospital was commissioned on June 15 this year and has so far admitted 604 patients for quarantine and isolation, and 96 patients for intermediate care, including oxygen. .
“The total bed capacity is 1,500, but there were only 25 patients as of August 28, 2020. The installation has cost around R350 million in total, which means that R500,000 has been spent on each patient,” said Bloom .
Masuku accused Bloom of spreading false information.
The MEC, which has been at the center of a COVID-19 corruption storm, said that Bloom’s comments were not only factually inaccurate, but also aimed at misleading the public and tarnishing her image.
Defending the provincial government’s decision to establish makeshift hospitals, Masuku said they had to plan for the worst-case scenario to avoid mass deaths.
He said that if South Africa had experienced a steep curve in infections, the country would be in a better position to mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic.
Since then, the facility had reduced the capacity of beds, while the provincial government suspended the construction of field hospitals.
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