North West quarantines all confirmed COVID-19 patients

Sunday, April 5, 2020

The North West Department of Health has taken a decision to put all confirmed COVID-19 patients and their contacts under its supervision to avoid further spread of the virus.

The decision was made after a COVID-19 patient from Bloemhof could not be found at home and had to be tracked down to a farm in Welkom in the Free State province.

North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha said the patient was immediately put under the care of the department.

“The person is now under the care of the department. We should at all time know where COVID-19 positive people and their contacts are to prevent further spread. That way, we will be able to monitor their prognosis and make appropriate decisions,” Sambatha said.

Meanwhile, MEC Sambatha together with his Agriculture counterpart in the province, Desbo Mohono, inspected two mine hospitals in the Matlosana area for their readiness to receive state patients.

The two hospitals, Westvaal in Orkney and Duff Scott in Stillfontein have been earmarked as overflow facilities should Klerksdorp Hospital be overwhelmed.

This is to ensure that health service delivery in the area is not compromised.

Klerksdorp Hospital is the only designated COVID-19 hospital in the North West.

“We have done inspection on additional bed capacity. In the programme of fighting COVID-19, each province has to have additional bed capacity in case our facilities were to be overwhelmed like what is happening in affected countries globally.

“The facilities we inspected are ready to be accessed and utilized should the need arise. We are looking for another facility, this time in Bojanala Platinum District where most positive cases for COVID-19 have been confirmed thus far,” he said.

The North West province has 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases. No deaths have been recorded in the province. – SAnews.gov.za