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With experts raising the alarm about a possible second spike in coronavirus transmissions, public hospitals are confident they will be better prepared.
FILE: Inside the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg in April 2020. Image: AFP
JOHANNESBURG – Public hospitals that were overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases are enjoying a respite and are now redirecting their efforts to other priorities.
Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Western Cape were among the worst affected provinces during the peak period, recording the highest number of infections and deaths.
But six months since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic and South Africa still has one of the lowest death rates and a recovery rate close to 90%.
At the height of COVID-19 infections in the country, Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg recorded an average of eight deaths per day. These days, officials report three.
“During the peak, we had reserved 314 beds for COVID patients and were occasionally running them at an occupancy rate of up to 90%. Now the beds are 42% occupied, ”explained Executive Director Gladys Bogoshi.
COVID-19 also had a profound impact on the valuable human resources at the facility, with more than 700 staff members contracting the coronavirus. Eight of them lost their lives.
At Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London, more than 120 healthcare workers, including 85 nurses and doctors, have tested positive for the virus.
CEO Sicelo Msi said Eyewitness news that during the peak of the outbreak, they had about 200 beds just for COVID-19 patients.
Since then, the allocation has been cut by more than half.
“In June the death toll rose, but since August no deaths have been reported. We have scaled down the units for COVID and are trying to return to our normal services. “
PREPARED FOR A SECOND WAVE
With experts raising the alarm about a possible second spike in coronavirus transmissions and talking about further relaxation in closure regulations, public hospitals are confident they will be better prepared.
Field hospitals and other temporary facilities that were established solely to cope with an increase in COVID-19 cases are either being phased out for now or reused.
“We are 100% prepared. So in the event that we have a second peak, we will be ready, ”said Msi from the East London hospital.
Most of the hospital wards and other units reserved for COVID-19 patients are being released, and staff hope to return to something close to normal.
The already understaffed hospital was struggling during the peak.
Meanwhile, Bogoshi said that a decline in COVID-19 treatments had also allowed Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital a respite, albeit slight.
“We are relieved that we were able to close some rooms, but we are not resting on our laurels,” said Bogoshi.
Experts say that South Africa’s previous response plan, young population and possible immunity to the virus in some communities could explain the country’s lower-than-anticipated infections, a higher recovery rate and fewer deaths.
“The downward trajectory is probably a combination of factors. The first is related to possibly reaching some kind of threshold in terms of herd immunity. My estimate, and we are doing surveillance at the moment, is probably that between 40 and 45% of the population could have been infected, especially in densely populated areas, ”said Professor Shabir Madhi, one of the leading experts on vaccines. from South Africa.
Herd immunity refers to the build-up of immunity to a disease or virus by a large portion of the population, which then provides enough resistance to slow the spread.
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