South African Health minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize on Monday reiterated his support for healthcare workers receiving the necessary equipment and being enabled to operate in a safe environment to discharge their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mkhize made the comments during a webinar on “empowering doctors to flatten the COVID-19 curve and ensure real recovery.”
“It is our duty to honour the sacrifice of our healthcare workers by ensuring their protection. The matter of the safety of health workers must be taken seriously. It is important for us to say ‘No PPE No Work’”, he said.
Health worker unions and employees have previously complained of health facilities not doing enough to protect front-line workers, an issue that Mkhize had previously 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.
Surges in infections, shortages of staff, unsafe environments and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been blamed for the increases in infections among health workers in South Africa.
More than 27,000 healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 while at least 240 others in South Africa have died after being infected.
According to statistics from the ministry, nearly 80 percent, or more than 21,000, of health workers infected with COVID-19 were workers from the public sector.
Earlier this month, the ministry launched an investigation into reasons why the country’s healthcare workers were increasingly contracting the coronavirus while discharging their duties.
South African authorities are also investigating government departments for corruption over irregularities in coronavirus-related tenders worth 5 billion rand ($290 million).
Despite the challenges they faced, Mkhize thanked the health workers for putting their lives on the line in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most disruptive global events in history.
“I must express my deep appreciation to all health workers who have really been the most able champions in this fight. Your passion, commitment, diligence and love for science has not only made my job so rewarding, but it has truly been the highlight of my career.”
Figures from the World Health Organisation indicated that the African countries with the highest number of infections among health workers are South Africa, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya.
South Africa has so far recorded a total of 611,450 infections and the total number of deaths is 13,159 while the total number of recoveries is 516,494, as of August 24.
