Free State Health Department spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, made this utterance in reaction to the strike by nursing staff at the Senorita Nthlabathi Hospital in Ladybrand this week.

The staff members claim they were unaware of being exposed to a COVID-19 positive patient on Sunday and did not have protective gear available in the facility. The staff then decided to boycott their duties, demanding that they be tested for the virus and handed over additional personal protective equipment (PPEs) before resuming their duties. Mvambi vehemently refutes the allegations made, describing the call to close the health facility down until the demands are met, unreasonable.

Mvambi says the Free State Health Department has made PPE available for all medical staff at public health facilities in the province. According to Mvambi, Health MEC Montseng Tsiu even publicly stated “that no staff should work without PPE and those that do not have PPE, must follow administrative procedures” to procure the gear. He says they have decontaminated exposed surfaces in health facilities and screened nurses daily to curb the virus. He says they cannot shut down health facilities on the basis that there is suspicion of a COVID-19 case.

Throughout this response, Mvambi does not confirm nor deny if indeed a COVID-19 positive patient sought medical attention from the Ladybrand-based hospital.

A Senorita Nthlabathi hospital employee, who has asked to remain anonymous out of fear of persecution, tells OFM News that on Sunday a paramedic living in the area came into the hospital with a twisted ankle. He was screened for the coronavirus, but exhibited no symptoms. So staff continued to attend to his injury. The paramedic then requested to be transferred to a Bloemfontein-based private hospital just under 140km away because he had a medical aid. When he arrived in Bloemfontein, unbeknownst to the Senorita Nthlabathi staff, he was tested for the virus and the results came back positive. However, once they did catch wind of the test results, some of the staff went into a blind panic, especially those with other chronic illnesses. They boycotted their posts on Tuesday, but were threatened with insubordination charges. 

According to the latest statistics on coronavirus cases in the country, released by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Tuesday evening, the Free State has 230 active cases, with nine confirmed deaths while 162 people have recovered from the condition in the province.

The Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein, Cloete van Vuuren, has corroborated some of the department’s statements telling OFM the measures in place to curb the spread of the virus in public spaces and schools are in fact quite effective. “A recent study looking at social distancing reveals if you’re in close proximity to a person, chances of contracting COVID-19  are 15% over a period of 15 mins. If you practise social distancing, this falls to 3%”.

He says if you wear masks, but do not practice social distancing the chances fall to 4%. He says the risk of contracting the virus becomes small when you implement all the measures; washing hands, using masks and practicing social distancing.

OFM News