The Eastern Cape Department of Health has bowed to pressure by unions to shut down Zwide Clinic in Port Elizabeth after the death of a nurse a few weeks ago and 11 staff members testing positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. Covid19InSA LockdownSA
The Eastern Cape Department of Health has bowed to pressure by unions to shut down Zwide Clinic in Port Elizabeth.
Health unions said that the Department’s Covid-19 Standard Operating Plan was negligent and that the lack of personal protective equipment posed an even greater risk to both the clinic and the Zwide community. “The staff demanded that everyone be tested for Covid-19 and the clinic cleaned. However, the cleaning company only cleaned the pharmacy where the deceased member worked. They did not clean the entire building. This was on the weekend of 2 and 3 May. The rest of the staff went back to work on 4 May, even though they did not yet know the results of their tests,” he said.
“We have a serious shortage of PPE. We do not have enough gloves or masks. We wear one mask for the entire day and there are more than 500 patients coming in and out per day. This is a serious risk to us and the patients.” Dr Litha Matiwane, the provincial deputy director general for health care services on Sunday confirmed to GroundUp that the facility would be closing for “deep decontamination”. “I cannot say when it will re-open because we are testing all the 42 staff members. The duration will also be determined by the release of the results.”
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