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Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said alcohol abuse and the related unnecessary trauma it often brought with it had been filling ICU beds, especially at COVID-19 hotspots across the country.
FILE: Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize during a walk at Dora Ngiza Hospital in Port Elizabeth on July 23, 2020. Image: @ DrZweliMkhize / Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has asked South Africans to do their bit to flatten the curve and free up space in the country’s hospitals.
Addressing a briefing on the new level three lockdown regulations, Mkhize said that banning the sale of alcohol would likely help matters considerably.
READ: Level 3 Lockdown – Alcoholic Beverage Industry Concerned About Illegal Alcohol Sales
Minister Mkhize said that alcohol abuse and the related unnecessary trauma it often brought with it had been filling ICU beds, especially at COVID-19 hotspots across the country.
“We find that our ICUs are full of trauma patients when, in fact, we need them for COVID-19 related situations.”
READ ALSO: Cele implores the public to respect the rules of confinement
Mkhize has appealed to citizens to work with the government to make sure they adhere to lockdown restrictions and in doing so reduce the number of infections.
“… so that we can open our hospitals so that we can continue to treat people who have come there with other illnesses that are not related to COVID-19.”
Currently, more than 11,000 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized. Of these, just over 3,500 are on oxygen and 604 on ventilators.
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