‘Remain Covid-19 alert’

The move to level two and the change of season resulted in people letting down their guard in terms of taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Polokwane Observer spoke to Dr Peters Mathebula, one of the doctors running the emergency unit at Netcare Pholoso hospital, who explained that despite the spike in temperatures, people should not become less cautious about infection.
“The warmer season does not necessarily mean the end of Covid-19. Looking at the graphs, we have hit the peak and the numbers are declining but with the country moving to level two, people are less restricted,” he said.
A challenge that might arise going forward is people disregarding the primary precautions which are sanitising, maintaining social distance and wearing a mask.
The countries that have seen a resurgence in cases are those who believed by virtue of having regulations lifted, everything is fine and that creates the danger of another spike in infections.
Another challenge that he highlighted is the unbanning of liquor which has burdened the healthcare system.
“In the past few months, we have been mainly dealing with medical problems and not trauma which eased the strain on hospitals. Since the country moved to level two, we are seeing more trauma cases mainly related to alcohol; such as injuries caused in fights and motor vehicle accidents,” he said.
This adds to the medical cases and Covid-19 related cases which they are still treating. “People must not stop taking vitamins and supplements as those boost your immune system to fight not only Covid-19 but all illnesses.”

Story: Miranda Chauke