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South African hospital operators have warned of the increasing risk of a resurgence of coronavirus cases during the upcoming December holiday season, when millions of people travel across the country to vacation destinations, cities and towns.
While the Covid-19 pandemic peaked in Africa’s most industrialized economy in late July, the number of cases has started to rebound just before the busiest time of year for intra-provincial travel and social gatherings.
“This is not the time to lower our guard, we must hold onto the lessons of the first wave,” Netcare Ltd CEO Richard Friedland said by phone. “The numbers in the Eastern Cape are very serious and the increase right now is mimicking the first wave. We are also seeing an increase in cases in the Western Cape. “
The arrival of the coronavirus in South Africa triggered a tough five-week lockdown in March and April, which gradually eased over the rest of the year.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has now turned his attention to reviving an economy that is in its longest recession in three decades, and any return to tight restrictions would likely derail that effort. South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 31% in the third quarter, a 17-year high.
Alcohol injuries
One response to the pandemic was to impose a prolonged ban on the sale of alcohol, in part to reduce the burden on hospital ICUs from drunken violence, accidents and car accidents.
While beverage-related injuries have risen since the measure was lifted, Friedland said Netcare has the ability to adapt to the increase alongside Covid-19 patients, in part because the latter now need shorter stays.
The Mediclinic International Plc unit in South Africa is sending fewer people with coronavirus infections to the ICU than at the beginning of the year, as patients are being treated “much more efficiently and effectively,” said CEO Ronnie van der Merwe. earlier this month.
However, the company again suspended the payment of dividends to shareholders “because we are still cautious about the pandemic and the possible second wave,” he said. Hospitals struggled during initial blackout periods due to a sharp drop in people seeking nonessential care, although demand is slowly returning, the CEO said.
The early stages of the South African pandemic tended to show spikes in cases in coastal provinces first, before similar increases in countries like Gauteng, which includes the Johannesburg Mall. That pattern is likely to happen again, according to Life Healthcare Group Holdings Ltd CEO Peter Wharton-Hood.
“Certain hospitals in the Eastern Cape are experiencing significant volumes at almost the same levels that were at the peak of the first wave,” he said. “Most of the other provinces have yet to have any increase in Covid-related volumes.”
South Africa has the highest number of registered coronavirus cases on the continent and is the 16th most affected country globally.
Read: Covid-19 hotspot alert for Cape Town as virus resurfaces
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