By Zuleikha Ahmed
22:06:21

Despite Gauteng being the economic hub of the country and relatively small, it seems to be the highest, with COVID-19 cases surging to an all-time high. With numbers reaching up to 8 thousand cases a day.

Although Gauteng is smaller than most other provinces, it holds the highest population, says Dr Aslam Dasoo.

Dasoo says that one of the reasons the surge, this time around, is more severe is because the coastal provinces were previously affected. And, although Gauteng was not spared, not that many people were not infected.

It has become challenging for the health sector to deal with this pandemic, especially with the Charlotte Maxekeke Hospital being out of service.

The real issue seems to be with the management of this wave, which was predicted way back in March already, so we would have expected the government to be better prepared.

And for some reason, Gauteng did not have much of its planning set out except for oxygen supplies, which can be said are relatively good. But, there was no operational planning for personnel and beds, which has become a significant problem in the province.

Public hospitals are being affected the most, with no extra beds for patients. As a result, the pressure on the hospitals is immense. It’s become unbearable, and patients are advised to stay home, stay safe and take care of themselves and their families.