Tzaneen still safe from Coronavirus
Communities in Tzaneen don't have to panic about the corona virus yet, but has to remain vigilant at all times.
These are the words of Dr Rual Toranzo from Letaba Hospital, who says they have started preparing for an outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
He encourages residents to practice good hygiene at all times.
“We have already started with training our doctors and sisters with infection control practice,” Toranzo explained.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize recently announced that the department has activated an emergency operations centre to deal with the global outbreak of the virus.
On top of this, every province in the country has a hospital which will be used as a centre for isolation and treatment of the infected people.
These are Polokwane Hospital in Limpopo, Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mpumalanga, Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, Steve Biko Hospital and Tembisa Hospitals in Gauteng, Grace Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, Klerksdorp Hospital in the North West, Kimberly Hospital in the Northern Cape, Pelonomi Hospital in the Free State, Livingstone Hospital in the Eastern Cape and Tygerberg Hospital in the Western Cape.
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“These centres have been chosen for their ability to isolate, manage, contain and conduct research on suspected or confirmed cases of Coronavirus.
“This by no means suggests that other facilities do not have the ability to manage a suspected case that presents for the first time.
“It is simply a mechanism to ensure that we can centralise coordination and data collection.
“Every hospital should be able to manage it and then move infected patients on to where we treat them centrally,” said the Minister.
On the other hand the Botswana government issued a statement that denounced they have any confirmed cases, but says it acknowledges five suspected cases.
Symptoms include fever, severe coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath.
The first case of the virus was reported in 31 December last year in Wuhan, China.
The first death outside of China was reported in the Phillipines of a 44-year-old Chinese man.
At the time of going to press and according to World0meter, there were 362 confirmed fatalities from 27 countries.
No confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in South Africa.
