Durban - If you were a patient at St Augustine’s Hospital from 1 March 2020 to date, please contact the KZN Department of Health, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize urged on Saturday.
The Netcare hospital, situated in Berea in Durban, has been identified as a hotspot for coronavirus infections in the province.
As at Saturday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 1585 with nine confirmed deaths, six of whom died in KwaZulu-Natal. The province has 232 confirmed cases.
"We have received a report from KZN Health MEC, Ms Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu that
KwaZulu-Natal has 11 confirmed Covid-19 cases linked to St Augustine’s Hospital, in
Durban. Furthermore, three of the deceased patients from KZN had been admitted at the hospital," Mkhize said.
"The Covid-19 positive cases include patients, health workers and other staff members."
The
KZN Department of Health and Netcare management agreed that the sections of the hospital
affected be closed and no new patient admissions be permitted.
"This is a precautionary
measure to allow for a thorough identification of areas within the hospital where there may
have been infection control lapses. The areas that were exposed to positive patients are also being disinfected," the Health Minister said.
"At this stage more
than 150 tests have been conducted within the hospital and contact tracing is underway. We
have advised that more tests be done on both staff and patients in order to determine the true
extent of the existence of the infection in the facility, which may call for further interventions."
As part of intensifying the contact tracing and testing process, MEC Simelane-Zulu has also
requested that Netcare avails a list of its patients that were exposed to the hospital as from
the beginning of March.
"We therefore make a public announcement that if you were a patient
at St Augustine’s Hospital from 1 March 2020 to date, we request that you contact the KZN
Department of Health," Mkhize said.
Netcare CEO Dr Richard Friedland said two of the patients were first admitted to the hospital on March 9 and 13 respectively, and the third patient on March 14.
He said the patients did not have a history of recent international travel or known contact with a person who was Covid-19 positive, nor did they present with any symptoms of Covid-19 when they were screened on admission.
* If you think you have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus, please call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 029 999 or visit sacoronavirus.co.za
** For the latest on the Covid-19 outbreak, visit IOL's special #Coronavirus page.