Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says the Health MECs of all provinces have been preparing for the second wave of the coronavirus.
He announced on Wednesday that the country is officially in the second wave of the virus.
South Africa has recorded over 6000 new cases in a 24-hour-period, the first since August.
The country has registered a total of 828 592 infections with 754 658 recoveries.
The death toll has risen to 22 574 after 135 COVID-19 related fatalities were recorded.
Mkhize says the rise in cases is already being felt by healthcare systems at the provincial level.
“The key issues that we have raised for the provinces is that they need to ensure testing turnaround times are as quick as possible to facilitate patient flow, to assess the bed capacities including recalling field hospital beds and reactivating them and attending to staff and equipment needs urgently to tighten up monitoring and evaluation and reporting to the national department. The pressure has built up in a number of provinces already.”
On Wednesday, Mkhize went back to the Eastern Cape to monitor how the province is dealing with its hotspots.
He visited the Sarah Baartman District to assess the district’s response to rising cases.
source: SABC News
