Read 2 minutes

South Africa’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday launched an investigation into reasons behind the country’s healthcare workers increasingly contracting the coronavirus while discharging their duties.

A surge in infections, shortages of staff and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been blamed for the increases in infections among health workers.

Minister of Health Dr. Zweli Mkhize established a task force following claims that a doctor at a hospital north of Pretoria in Gauteng province died after contracting the virus due to insufficient provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“A few days ago my office brought to my attention that there were public reports that a doctor had passed away at George Mukhari Academic Hospital due to COVID-19 related illness. There were also allegations that this was due to lack of sufficient supply of PPE and doctors being made to work in unsafe environments at the facility,” Mkhize said.

Mkhize said the ministry also received reports that some doctors may be dying after being infected due to failure or negligence by management to follow prescribed workplace safety protocols.

“I viewed these allegations in a serious light and have decided to appoint a team led by Professor Taole Mokoena together with other medical, nursing and legal professionals, to conduct an urgent investigation and provide me with a report in 14 days from the commencement date.”

Mkhize directed all provinces to see to it that Occupational and Health Safety committees are formed and fully operational within a week to allow members and unions to debate issues affecting them and resolve them. he added that any issue which was not resolved must be escalated to the province’s Member of the Executive Council (MEC).

Health worker unions and employees have previously complained of health facilities not doing enough to protect front-line workers, an issue that Mkhize acknowledged.

In April, the main health workers’ union, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU), threatened to take the government to court over shortages of PPE which, it argued, will endanger the lives of health workers.

The threat came in the wake of revelations that nearly 50 health workers a hospital in KwaZulu-Natal province had tested positive for COVID-19.

More than 24,000 health workers in South Africa have tested positive for COVID-19 with 181 of them being killed by the deadly disease. According to Mkhize, the numbers of health workers account for about five percent of the country’s total caseload.

Last month, the World Health Organisation also raised concerns that measures aimed at preventing infections in health facilities were still not fully implemented across the continent.