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The Nelson Mandela Bay metro has complained that residents go out late at night and do not wear their masks, contributing to a sharp increase in cases in the city. (Photo: Donna van der Watt)
A chilling account of how Nelson Mandela Bay township metropolitan police officers found 1,000 unmasked late-night revelers crammed into a single party spot in the city, with another 500 outside, is part of the report given to the health minister on the status of a massive coronavirus outbreak in the area.
In a 100-page presentation to Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize, explaining the scope of a huge coronavirus outbreak in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, metro police officers recounted how they broke up a party of 1,500 revelers, none of whom wore masks.
The place was among several drinking places in the city that were closed for not complying with the regulations of the Disaster Management Act.
Along with reports about hospitals being under extreme pressure, staff fatigue and concerns about wounded units being overrun by patients, Mkhize asked for a report with statistics, so “we can start talking about the alcohol”.
Concluding his visit to the two large hospitals on the metro, Mkhize praised the renovations that had turned the basement parking lot of Livingstone Hospital into a 73-bed ward and the extensive work that transformed an abandoned building at Dora Nginza Hospital into a ward. than 100 beds for patients awaiting their Covid-19 results.
Mkhize said that while there were more patients in the hospitals than in July and August, staff morale had improved with the new wards and the fact that sufficient oxygen points and ventilators are now available.
The provincial MEC of Health, Sindiswa Gomba, announced that Uitenhage-based vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen had donated 10 million rand to renovate the casualty unit at Dora Nginza Hospital. Last week, the unit ran out of space for beds and was unable to receive any more patients.
Mkhize said he wanted to send a strong message: “This pandemic can materialize into a second wave complete with a sharp increase if it is not taken seriously.” He said that given the current number of infections, there must be a lot of “superprocessor events”.
“The key issue is to avoid large gatherings and large parties. This is the time for people to understand that we are going to run into difficulties. [If this isn’t brought under control now,] by December we will be in big trouble. “
In the report submitted to Mkhize, metropolitan police officers described how, in early November, they conducted an operation to monitor Covid-19 compliance in popular nighttime drinking spots.
Brown said he was very concerned about upcoming parties in town and that there were already an increase in people at the places to drink as the students finished their exams.
They closed several drinking venues in Port Elizabeth, including Loxion Club, Posh Lounge, Moonlight Lounge, Captains Lounger, Destiny Lounge and Question Spot Bar, due to non-compliance.
“Metro police officers responded to another club complaint at Valley Club and Gallery Nightclub. There was a large crowd outside and inside the establishments. Gallery Nightclub was overcrowded, there were about 500 people outside on our arrival; drinking and they were very loud. They were young people between 14 and 23 years old. The bottles were thrown to the ground for unknown reasons.
“In a deeper investigation we found that there were around 1,000 people inside the establishment without masks, without social distancing, and the owners did not provide the population certificate upon request. A file was opened at the Humewood Police Station [for] contravention of the Disaster Management Act ”, said the report, shared by the director of the Metro Disaster Management Forum, Shane Brown.
Brown told Mkhize that long lines at the city’s post offices, with very little compliance, also posed a great risk. Most of the people in line are trying to access the R350 Covid-19 grant.
Brown said he was very concerned about upcoming parties in town and that there were already an increase in people at the places to drink as the students finished their exams.
“And we’ve seen the announcements for matric raves. The holiday season is of great concern to us. If this virus cannot be stopped, we will have one that we would rather forget.
“The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, was absolutely right about alcohol and cigarettes,” he added.
The report given to Mkhize outlined a devastating picture of infections and deaths in the city.
On November 2, there were 167 active cases in the city. The next day this jumped to 543, the following days saw steady increases of between 400 and 500 cases per day and on November 10 the number of active cases increased by another 840, followed by daily increases of between 600 and 700 and another jump. from 837 on November 14, which was reduced to 437 on November 15.
The metro, which includes Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch, as of Tuesday, November 17, had 4,324 active cases.
Nelson Mandela Bay District Manager Darlene de Vos said there were 716 patients at the hospital who tested positive for the virus, 97 of whom were in intensive care units. He said four makeshift ICU beds were created in the field hospital, donated by Volkswagen, where there are now 275 patients. Two other ICU beds were also created at Uitenhage Provincial Hospital. Of those in the ICU, 52 had ventilators.
In the last week on the subway, 28 people died from Covid-19 on Monday, 23 on Tuesday, 18 on Wednesday, 30 on Thursday, 35 on Friday, 17 on Saturday and 26 on Sunday, De Vos said.
On November 11, public health officials had to monitor two funerals, the next day five and the next day nine.
According to the report, the South African Police Service had visited 404 licensed beverage establishments, but found that all were in compliance with Covid-19 regulations.
“The report says there are no problems,” Mkhize said, “but a doctor showed me a photo of a well-known tavern in the city. “There were no masks. Without distancing. It would be impossible not to catch Covid-19 if it is there. ”
He said the message to the taverns should be simple: Either comply or lose your license. Mkhize added that if retailers allow people without masks to enter their stores, they must close them.
“The Disaster Management Act allows us to be strong in the way we deal with this,” he said.
“During the raise, we had to deal with the alcohol problem. If we have staff fatigue and overcrowding in wounded units, bring me the numbers … we will see it again ”.
Brown said that in addition to the strain on an already full Dora Nginza hospital, the facility’s power grid was vandalized this week, “taking out a large part of the hospital.”
“I admit it, I think we have been too kind to compliance,” he said.
De Vos said his main problems were that people were not attached to social distancing and did not wear masks. “This includes the health department staff.” He said they were concerned about staff burnout, congestion in victim units and resistance from unions to the implementation of the plans.
Gomba said he had hired Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane’s office over staffing concerns on the subway. “Those who are working never had a break.” He said they will work on a report to make sure the number of employees on the subway is increased.
The issue of staff shortages was first raised with the MEC in March and again in July. De Vos said there were 166 hospital staff in isolation. DM / MC
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