The full text of the speech delivered by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize in the National Assembly on the impact of Covid-19 on South Africans.
Honourable House Chairperson and Honourable members, we meet today being the 104th day since the His Excellency, President Ramaphosa announced that our country will be going on a national lockdown.
As of the 7th of July 2020, South Africa has 10 144 new cases, bringing the cumulative confirmed cases since our first case to 215 855. To date 48% of the confirmed cases have recovered bringing the total to 103 934. Unfortunately, there have been 3 470 confirmed deaths. This brings the case fatality ratio of 1.6%.
Clarifying care pathways in respect of case detection, management and clinical pathways and to align the hierarchy of facilities established or reconfigured for the Covid-19 response;Strengthening capacity at ports of entry by enhancing screening capacity at key ports of entry and augmenting environmental health; and
With regards to quarantine, as of the 7th of July we have activated 139 quarantine facilities across the country. It constitutes a total of 12 532 beds. In-service training of all health care workers to ensure that workers can cope with the management of the pandemic relative to their scope of work has been initiated.
Personal protective equipment is specifically required to protect health care workers and other frontline workers from Covid-19 infection. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, PPE supply chains have become severely constrained both globally as well as in South Africa. We want to assure frontline health care workers that the PPE requirements for health workers at different levels of risk are informed by evidence.
As much as we look forward to an effective and safe vaccine, and to more effective therapies for Covid-19, current clinical management relies mainly on supportive measures, including the provision of oxygen. South Africa has a well-developed medical oxygen supply system, but careful planning and management will be needed to ensure that every patient who needs oxygen is able to access it.
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