SA is now in stage five of an eight-stage programme to manage the Covid-19 pandemic‚ health minister Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday.
Stage 5 deals with surveillance to identify and intervene in hotspots‚ spatial monitoring of new cases and investigation of outbreaks.
As at Tuesday evening‚ SA had registered 17‚200 cases of Covid-19 and recorded 312 deaths‚ with 7‚960 recoveries.
The country’s plan to combat the pandemic was outlined in an eight-stage programme that was revealed by the chair of the ministerial advisory group on Covid-19‚ Prof Salim Abdool Karim‚ last month when SA was on stage 4.
According to the plan‚ the first four stages are:
Stage 1: Preparation
Community education
Establishing lab capacity
Surveillance
Stage 2: Primary prevention
Social distancing and handwashing
Closing schools and reduced gathering
Close the borders to international travel
Stage 3: Lockdown
Intensifying curtailment of human interaction
Stage 4: Surveillance and active case-finding
The community response: door-to-door screening‚ testing‚ isolation and contact tracing
On Tuesday‚ Mkhize said SA was in stage 5 and also focusing on stages 6‚ 7 and 8.
We are currently in stage 5 of managing the pandemic. We are currently dealing with hotspots and focusing on 6,7,8. #EditorsBriefing pic.twitter.com/YzqlLC0EbN
— Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) May 19, 2020
Stage 5: identify and intervene in hotspots‚ spatial monitoring of new cases and investigation of outbreaks.
Stage 6: Medical care (for the peak)
Surveillance on caseload and capacity
Managing staff exposures and infections
Building field hospitals for triage
Expand ICU bed and ventilator numbers
Stage 7: Bereavement and the aftermath
Expanding burial capacity
Regulations on funerals
Managing psychological and social impact
Stage 8: Ongoing vigilance
Administer vaccines‚ if available
Ongoing surveillance for new cases.
By: Ernest Mabuza
Source: ARENA Holdings.
