Silence from the health department will not ‘flatten the curve’ of Covid-19 in the city
What the residents and staff of the hospital are concerned about is that for all these people that tested positive in the wards, no sanitising or safety measures are put in place
A chaotic cloud of panic came upon eMalahleni as residents are in abuzz about the huge spike in positive Covid-19 cases and deaths that are increasing by the day.
According to the Mpumalanga Health Department’s latest update on the statistics of the province, eMalahleni has a total of 2059 positive cases and six deaths that was recorded at at July 21.
As most residents are confused about the accuracy of these stats, which is a big concern for a while now, WITBANK NEWS contacted numerous funeral homes to get clarity on the number of deaths.
There were funeral services that could confirm such incidents but for the privacy and trust to these families that lost their loved ones, it was confirmed anonymously.
Although no exact numbers of deaths were given, it indicated that there are in fact more deaths of Covid-19 and related illnesses on record.
Mr Dumisane Malamule, spokesperson of the Mpumalanga Health Department explained to WITBANK NEWS how the department determines if a patient died of this virus.
“All patients who are presenting with Covid-19 related symptoms are tested for confirmation of Covid-19, and if the test is positive then the death is recorded as Covid-19 related death. The pronouncement of Covid-19 related death can only be done after the confirmed results have been received which may be days after the death occurred.”
Another query came under the attention of WITBANK NEWS as a reliable source described the current state of Witbank General Hospital as ‘disgraceful and a Covid-19 hotspot in eMalahleni’ as more than five staff members tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed under self-isolation but did not get tested before resuming work after their 14-days quarantine.
“In the out-patient department a staff member tested positive but the staff who were in close contact with her were not tested, the patients that that nurse come in contact with her were not traced to be quarantined or tested,” the source alleged.
What the residents and staff of the hospital are concerned about is that for all these people that tested positive in the wards, no sanitising or safety measures are put in place.
“No closing of units, fumigating or sanitation protocol is followed. No tracings of contacts of people who are likely to have contracted the virus from staff no social distancing of patients lack of masks. There is no control of this pandemic in this hospital and management is failing their workers and community,” he added.
Another concerning fact is that another media house reported on the lack of equipment such as ventilators – so where did the funds that were allocated for this purpose, gone to?
Malamule responded to this query by indicating that Witbank Hospital is one of the first hospitals that were prepared to handle Covid-19 patients.
“The hospital has adequate ventilators and isolation facilities to be able to manage and isolate Covid-19 related cases. The hospital is following the approved guidelines on the identification and management of contact cases. All staff members who are dealing with positive patients wear personal protective equipment as per the guidelines and were a case has been identified, decontamination is also done as per the guideline,” Malamule added.
Although the residents do not agree with what the department is declaring in their statistics and feel that the stats are backlogged Malamule said that the province is only announcing the statistics after the minister has made a pronouncement of the national statistics.
