Health Minister Zweli Mkhize visited the Eastern Cape and said a team would be meeting to sort out the bureaucratic processes associated with employing more healthcare professionals in order to provide relief to existing staff
Zweli Mkhize, Health Minister said that over 3,500 beds have been put into operation in the Eastern Cape, but there will be a need for more capacity.
The minister visited the province amid concerns of a complete collapse of the healthcare system.
The Eastern Cape has recorded an unprecedented 400 new COVID-19 related facilities in the last 24-hour cycle.
This is the highest single-day jump for any province to date.
Mkhize said a team would be meeting on Thursday afternoon to sort out the bureaucratic processes associated with employing more healthcare professionals in order to provide relief to existing staff.
“All of us know that for a long time there were vacancies and posts that were frozen, and so they were running a large number of vacancies. That we have had to deal with, so we are encouraging the provincial department to open the database and make sure that we get as many of the staff as possible.”
The Eastern Cape has registered over 67,000 confirmed cases.
More than 1,300 people have succumbed to the virus in the province.
