12 employees, four doctors from Pretoria’s Life Eugene Marais in self-isolation

Twelve employees and four doctors from the Life Eugene Marais hospital in Pretoria are currently at home in self-isolation after being exposed to a Covid-19 patient.

The patient is currently being treated in the hospital’s single dedicated Covid-19 ICU.  

The hospital’s national Covid-19 task team is continuously assessing the situation, according to Dr Charl van Loggerenberg, the Life Healthcare emergency medicine general manager, reports Rekord Moot. 

“The employees and doctors are being managed in terms of the guidelines from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on healthcare workers who have been exposed to Covid-19 patients,” said Van Loggerenberg.  

“Life Healthcare is frequently consulting with government, our doctors, employees and healthcare workers to ensure that our protocols and processes remain relevant for the needs of our patients.”  

Van Loggerenberg said, as with all hospitals across the country, the risk of exposure to hospital employees and doctors means stringent infection prevention and control safety measures have to be implemented.  

“Employees and doctors are screened when they first enter the hospital building for the day and again when they leave at the end of the day. 

“All employees and doctors are required to report potential exposure or symptoms to hospital management as a matter of urgency so that necessary steps and precautions can be implemented.”  

He did not confirm whether the employees and doctors in self-isolation were indeed showing symptoms.