Tembisa Hospital earmarked to treat coronavirus patients
So far no confirmed or suspected cases had been reported in South Africa.
Despite the fact that 10 babies died at Tembisa Hospital last year following the outbreak of antibiotic-resistant klebsiella, the hospital has been identified as one of 11 state hospitals put on alert to treat patients who contracted the coronavirus – should the virus spread to South Africa.
According to health minister Zweli Mkhize, Tembisa Hospital, as well as Charlotte Maxeke in Johannesburg and Steve Biko in Pretoria, were selected due to their proximity to OR Tambo International Airport.
The other hospitals are Polokwane in Limpopo, Rob Ferreira in Mbombela, Greys in Pietermaritzburg, Klerksdorp in North West, Pelonomi in Bloemfontein in the Free State, Kimberley in the Northern Cape, Livingstone in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape and Tygerberg in Cape Town in the Western Cape.
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Speaking in Sandringham on Wednesday, the minister assured South Africans there was no reason to panic. No confirmed or suspected cases had been reported in South Africa.
The department of health earlier said South Africa was adequately prepared for active surveillance, early detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and prevention of the onward spread of the virus infection, and will share full data with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Although the origin of the disease in Wuhan City, China, is suspected to be zoonotic (that is animal origin), evidence suggests that the current spread is from human to human.
According to the WHO, the incubation period is about two to 10 days, though some literature has cited up to 14 days. More evidence is needed to determine if asymptomatic patients are contagious, although the preliminary evidence suggests that, like SARS and Ebola, all the contacts reported were patients who had symptoms.
