Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says more resources will be sent to the Western Cape, which has become the epicentre of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The minister says the rapid infection of frontline shop and factory workers with COVID-19 in the Cape is of great concern.
He told Parliament that the province is providing a picture of what’s likely to come in other provinces as the virus spreads.
Until last week, the Western Cape was behind Gauteng in the spread of COVID-19 but as it ramped up testing, the pattern of infection has shifted to the city’s impoverished areas.
RESOURCES: Mkhize
It has forced the closure of large food retailers and at least one pharmaceutical factory.
“We are going to be increasing the number of kits that are going to the Western Cape,” Mkhize said.
“We are also going to be working very closely with the clinicians that are treating the patients to see what assistance they need.
“We also want to put extra doctors, including those coming from Cuba, and we will be sending more specialists, epidemiologists and so on. We are also going to work with them on planning.”
Meanwhile, Western Cape Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo has warned that shopping malls have become a hotspot for transmissions.
WARN: MEC Mbombo
Stringent hygiene etiquette in malls will become the new norm, she said last week.
Over 400 infections, from those sites, have been recorded in the province so far.