Heavy pressure on hospitals due to Covid-19

GEORGE NEWS - The second Covid-19 wave in the Garden Route has caused daily Covid hospital admissions in the Garden Route to shoot up almost threefold in the last two weeks with more than 20 cases being admitted per day.

This is according to the head of Western Cape Health, Dr Keith Cloete, who spoke during a digicon yesterday, Wednesday 25 November. Mediclinic manager Kassie Karstens confirmed that their Covid admissions have increased sharply.

"Our ICU is full at the moment and we have opened a satellite high care ward. We are fortunate to be part of a large national group and we were able to source more equipment such as ventilators and monitors. We have also sourced additional ICU personnel to assist for an indefinite period. We have stopped visiting hours and scaled down theatre lists.

"By the coming weekend, we should have opened a second general ward for Covid patients."

The George Hospital in an internal circular announced that it has commissioned Ward A1 (25 beds) and Ward A2 (23 beds) as Covid wards and the Virus Testing Centre (VTC) that was closed recently, has reopened.

An ICU (18 beds) in the Day Ward has also been opened for Covid cases.

The VTC, that was reopened on Monday 23 November, tested 66 patients on the first day. According to the circular, there is concern about the number of staff members who have recently contracted Covid-19.

Twenty-three positive staff members are isolating, of whom nine were diagnosed on Tuesday 24 November. More than 30 staff members are in quarantine (high-risk exposure) and contact tracing of new cases is underway.

The Covid-19 hospitalisations in the Garden Route increased threefold since 1 November, according to this graph presented by Dr Keith Cloete.