More than 13,000 health workers hit by the virus

According to the department of health on Thursday, coronavirus has infected about 13,000 health workers and killed more than 100 of them as the virus takes its toll on frontline caregivers.

The country has the highest number of infections on the continent, with 394,948 recorded cases and 5,940 deaths as of Wednesday and ranks fifth in the world in terms of confirmed cases.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s spokesperson, Popo Maja, told AFP that 13,174 health workers had been infected as of Tuesday, with 103 deaths and 6,394 recoveries.

This statistics was revealed after the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that more than 10,000 health workers in 40 countries had been sickened by the virus.

Shortage and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been considered as one of the major reasons for the rise in infection rate among the health workers.

WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti at a news conference on Thursday said “The growth we are seeing in Covid-19 cases in Africa is placing an ever-greater strain on health services across the continent”

“This has very real consequences for the individuals who work in them, and there is no more sobering example of this than the rising number of health worker infections,” she said.