Durban – Mediclinic, an international private hospital group with operations in South Africa, has noted with dismay and rejected a fake WhatsApp message which apparently instructs doctors not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Covid-19 patients.
“Mediclinic would like to note that the claims referencing Mediclinic Morningside in this message are false,” Dr Stefan Smuts, chief clinical officer of Mediclinic Southern Africa, said in a statement on Monday.
“In strict accordance with NICD (National Institute for Communicable Diseases) and National Department of Health protocols, Mediclinic has implemented the necessary measures to manage any patients presenting with symptoms and to prevent the potential transmission of the virus in our facilities,” said Smuts.
“The Covid-19 pandemic poses a serious challenge to South Africa and its citizens and Mediclinic is committed to playing our part in supporting the National Department of Health where required.”
As of Monday, KwaZulu-Natal has seen its number of confirmed Covid-19 cases jump to 25 572, with a 29.4% recovery rate (7 521).
Nationally, the country has seen a rise to 276 242 confirmed cases with a recovery rate of 48.8% (134 874).
The total number of Covid-19-related deaths in South Africa is 4 079.
In an address to the nation on Monday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa explained that the surge in infections, which scientists and medical experts had predicted almost three months ago, was now coming to pass.
“It started in the Western Cape and is now under way in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng,” said the president.
“While infections rise exponentially, it is important to note that our case fatality rate of 1.5% is among the lowest in the world. This is compared to a global average case fatality rate of 4.4%.
"We owe the relatively low number of deaths in our country to the experience and dedication of our health professionals and the urgent measures we have taken to build the capacity of our health system,” said Ramaphosa.